Bramall Hall
Bramall Hall is a manor house in Bramhall, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Largely Tudor in design, its oldest parts date from the 14th century, with additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. It is a notable example of the timber-framed buildings found throughout the historic county of Cheshire. The house functions as a museum and its of landscaped parkland are open to the public.
The manor of Bramall was first described in the Domesday Book in 1086, when it was held by the Massey family. From the late 14th century, it was owned by the Davenports, who built the present house and remained lords of the manor for about 500 years. In 1877 they sold the estate of nearly to the Manchester Freeholders' Company, a property company formed to exploit the estate's potential for residential building development. The hall and a residual park of over was sold on by the Freeholders to the Nevill family of successful industrialists.
In 1925 it was purchased by John Henry Davies and then, in 1935, acquired by Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council. Following a local government reorganisation in 1974, Bramall Hall is now owned by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, which describes it as "the most prestigious and historically significant building in the Bramhall Park Conservation Area."
History
Early history
The name "Bramall" means "nook of land where broom grows" and is derived from the Old English noun brōm meaning broom, the yellow-flowered shrub common in the area, and the Old English noun halh, which has several meanings—including nook, secret place and valley—that could refer to Bramall. The manor of Bramall dates from the Anglo-Saxon period, when it was held as two separate estates owned by the Anglo-Saxon freemen Brun and Hacun. The manor was devastated during William the Conqueror's Harrying of the North. After William subdued the north-west of England, the land was divided among his followers and Bramall was given to Hamon de Massey in around 1070.The earliest reference to Bramall was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bramale" at which time the manor was part of the Hamestan Hundred in Cheshire. With Cheadle and Norbury, Bramall was one of three places described in the Domesday Book that today lie within the modern-day Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. While its value was 32 shillings before 1066, it was worth only 5 shillings by 1086.
In the first part of the 12th century, the manor passed from the second Baron of Dunham Massey to Matthew de Bromale. According to Barbara Dean, Matthew's father is said to have founded the de Bromale family, naming himself after the manor, and he may have been related to or a follower of the de Masseys. He may have also held the manor at some point. The de Bromales held the manor until 1370 when Alice de Bromale married John de Davenport, and so the estate came to be held by the Davenport family until the late 19th century.
Early Davenports
The Davenports were a family of significant landowners in the north-west of England whose antecedents can be traced back to the time of the Norman Conquest. Orm de Davenport lived close to what is now Marton in Cheshire, and his name derives from the Norman French Dauen-port meaning "the town on the trickling stream", referring to his home on the River Dane. In 1160 the family became responsible for Macclesfield Forest, and in the early 13th century Vivian Davenport became its Grand Sergeant. The family's achievement of arms has, as the crest, a felon's head with a rope around the neck, which is said to represent the family's power over life and death during this period. The Davenports acquired land throughout the area, notably at Wheltrough, Henbury, Woodford and lastly at Bramhall through marriage.The Davenports held the manor for around 500 years, and it is likely that they built the current house after their accession. The first William Davenport was lord of the manor from 1478 to 1528, and one of the first recorded trustees of Macclesfield Grammar School. It is possible that he was heavily involved in the final battle of the Wars of the Roses at Bosworth and thereby instrumental in gaining the crown for Henry VII, who rewarded him with a pension of 20 marks per year payable for his lifetime. According to Dean, it was during this first William's tenure that Bramall may have been vandalised by a man named Randle Hassall, who destroyed all or part of nine houses and stole the timber. This gives credence to the theory that Bramall was rebuilt, replacing or partially replacing an older building.
The third William Davenport, who succeeded his father of the same name in 1541, took part in what later became known as The Rough Wooing, a series of attacks against Scotland ordered by Henry VIII. He was knighted in Scotland for his efforts at the burning of Edinburgh in May 1544. The fifth William Davenport inherited Bramall in 1585 from his father of the same name, and lived there with his wife Dorothy for over 50 years. The first marriage in Bramall's chapel was recorded in 1599, between William, eldest son of the fifth William and Dorothy, and Frances Wilbraham. On 22 April 1603, the fifth William Davenport was knighted by James I and VI at Newark and later became the High Sheriff of Cheshire and a commissioner of the Hundred of Macclesfield. During the tenure of the fifth William, many alterations were made to the building, including the addition of a room above the Great Hall, and a long gallery. The internal decorations were also updated with additions such as wall paintings and portraits.
The sixth William succeeded his father in 1639 shortly before the English Civil War broke out. He was a Royalist, though said not to have been a particularly dedicated one. Many of his tenants became Parliamentarian soldiers, and over the next three years he had numerous visits from Parliamentarian soldiers, mostly seeking to acquire goods such as horses and weapons for the war, and using the house for quartering soldiers. Bramall was also host to Royalist soldiers, who confiscated some of the Davenport property for use in the war. William Davenport was at one point charged with delinquency, and ordered to pay a fine of £750, and soldiers continued to use Bramall Hall because of its convenience.
Later Davenports
The sixth William was briefly succeeded by his son Peter, who was followed by his son William. William the seventh's son was the eighth William Davenport, and an inventory of his property made shortly after his death in 1706 shows the gallery and gatehouse of Bramall were still intact. His two eldest sons each inherited the estate but both died young and heirless, so the estate passed to their younger brother Warren Davenport. Warren became part of the clergy, and during his tenure at Bramall set up a school close to the entrance of the estate. The tenth and final William Davenport succeeded his father, Warren at the age of four. Many changes were made to the house during his tenure, including the dismantling of the gatehouse side of the courtyard and the long gallery, the latter of which may have been done because of their being considered unsafe. William had no sons, so the estate passed to Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, the husband of his illegitimate daughter Maria.Humphreys, a naval captain, had married Maria Davenport in 1810, and lived at Bramall Hall long before he succeeded his father-in-law. He became widely respected in the Stockport area, but following his succession to the estate in 1829, there were disputes from other members of the Davenport family who claimed a right to the property. Edmund Davenport, who claimed ancestry from Thomas Davenport, the third son of Peter, unsuccessfully contested the succession in two different courts; Edmund was eventually imprisoned for failing to pay the legal fees. Humphreys was knighted in 1834 for his services, and in 1838 changed his name to Davenport, in an effort to continue the Davenport line. He moved with Maria to Cheltenham in 1841, most likely because living at Bramall had become expensive or because of health concerns. Salusbury died there four years later and was buried in Leckhampton.
Over the next decade, the house was likely to have been let, as Maria Davenport preferred to live elsewhere. Her eldest son, William Davenport, married firstly to Camilla Maria Gatt and then secondly to Diana Handley, with whom he lived at Bramall for four years before the estate was passed to him. Maria moved to London where she lived with her youngest son, Charles, and died in 1866. During William's tenure Bramall was regularly visited by members of the public, and the Chapel continued to be used for regular services of worship. However, following his death in 1869, the property was let to Wakefield Christy of Christys & Co Hatting, therefore ending direct involvement from the Davenport family. This occurred because William's son, John, was too young to inherit the estate. John's whereabouts during Christy's seven-year tenure is unknown, though he was shown as a visitor at Bramall in 1871, and in 1874 became the first chairman of the Bramhall School Board. In 1876 shortly before he returned to the house, he was listed as living on Ack Lane in Bramhall.
Later history
John Davenport returned to Bramall in 1876 at the age of 25, but on 24 January 1877 it was announced that the estate was to be sold. The furniture was auctioned, while the house itself and rest of the Bramall estate was sold to the Freeholders Company Limited, a Manchester property development firm, on 3 August 1877 for £200,000. According to speculation, the sale was motivated by financial issues and a personal distaste of the building. It remained empty until 1882 when it was purchased by Thomas Nevill, a local industrialist whose wealth came from calico printing, for his son, Charles. While living in the house, Charles Nevill commissioned substantial restoration and remodelling, making the interior more comfortable while retaining most of the building's external features, under the direction of architect George Faulkner Armitage. The landscape of the grounds was redesigned, and a new stable was built along with a west and east lodge, housing the coachman and head gardener respectively. Another building, known as Hall Cottage, was also built in the vicinity, and housed the Sidebottom family.Thomas Nevill, Charles' nephew and adopted son, inherited the estate in 1916, but decided to sell it following financial difficulties after the First World War. In 1923 many items of furniture were auctioned off, but there was no interest in purchase of the house. During that decade rumours arose that Bramall would be dismantled and transported to the United States; this may have been popularised by the autobiography of Kate Douglas Wiggin, which described the author's visit to Bramall in 1890. In 1925 the house was auctioned, with the condition that if no purchaser came forward it would be demolished and the materials sold off. At one point the neighbouring local authority, Stockport County Borough Council, offered to buy the estate, but Nevill rejected their offer as "unacceptable". The auction received no acceptable offers. However, one of those present, John Henry Davies, president of Manchester United, later offered £15,000 for the house; this was accepted. He lived in the house until his death in 1927, and his widow Amy remained there until 1935, when she sold it to Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council for £14,360 with the intention that the house and park be open to the public.
Under council ownership, the house was occupied by a caretaker, though most of the building was open to the public. The house and grounds were used for various functions, such as the proclamation of George VI succeeding his brother King Edward VIII to the throne. At that time, the house was sparsely furnished as the council was unable to afford much furniture. One of the council's earliest projects was the restoration of the chapel, which had fallen out of use towards the end of the 19th century. It was restored to resemble how it would have been when the Davenports were last at Bramall, and a service of consecration was held on 30 October 1938 once the work had been completed. In 1947 an association called the Friends of Bramall Hall was set up, primarily to find furnishings for the house, but also to advertise and assist in the upkeep of the house and grounds. Over the years, many furnishings which had once belonged to the house were returned, including portraits of the occupants. The estate is now the property of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, which acquired it in 1974, following local government reorganisation.