HADFIELDs and their HALLs
by Roger Hadfield MA F.R.G.S.
Within
a radius of four miles west and north of Glossop are
to be found seven 'Halls' or 'Old Halls' in Derbyshire and just across the
border in Cheshire. This term is common in Derbyshire not only for the
residences of the great landowners but for the buildings of the independent
yeoman families. Six of these date from the mid to late 1600s when construction
of two storey gritstone houses became common. Hadfields were to occupy all seven for lengthy periods.
Numerous accounts of the 'Halls' often confused the various Hadfield
families and therefore using Hadfield documents of
all types, here is a brief account to set the record straight.
First,
there is HADFIELD OLD HALL now a Grade II
listed building and the home of Mr. and Mrs. Howard. This is in the hamlet of
that name from whence Hadfields derive. Though there
is no absolute proof, it is fairly certain it was built in 1646 by Thomas Hadfield (1603-1674). There had been Thomas Hadfields at Hadfield since the
1400s and probably long before. This one was a Parliamentary Captain in the
Civil War and much is known about his military activities and 'the estate at Hadfield' which he owned. This estate and almost certainly
the Hall, passed down the Captain's line to 1844 after
which it was the property of a Hadfield nephew to
1861.
The
Captain's son, George (1626-1672) died before him, however, his sons Thomas
(1653-1743) and Moses (1666-1728) prospered so that the Captain's great
grandson, George (1690-1759), son of Thomas (1653-1743) held at his death as
well as the Hadfield estates, lands in Yorkshire,
Cheshire, Whitfield (Glossop) and Hayfield but
George's son Thomas (1718-1789) was established at SYMONDLEY HALL. This Hall was also
built in the 1600s and as late as 1734 it had been occupied by one Booth
Waterhouse, a Glossop schoolmaster. Whether Thomas
got this by marriage or purchase is not known, neither is it clear how it left
the Hadfields in the 1800s. Here were born Thomas's
children, Martha (1769-1818), Moses (1770-1844), George (1772-1831), Samuel
(1777-1842) and Hannah (1779-1827).
Thomas
(1718-1789) had a wealthy brother Samuel (1721-1807) a hat manufacturer of
Oldham who, as well as estates in Lancashire, Ireland and possibly the USA,
acquired in the late 1700s HOLLINGWORTH OLD HALL (Cheshire) for
centuries the home of the Hollingworths - this and
much wealth he left to his nephews, sons of Thomas. After 1844 it passed to
Martha Wood, daughter of his niece Hannah (1779-1827). It was demolished in 1943
(though not its adjacent farm).
In
1800 Samuel (1721-1807) also bought MOTTRAM OLD HALL (Cheshire), this
again property of the Hollingworths in 1750. This he
left to his nephew George (1772-1831), son of Thomas (1718-1789). George born at Symondley, lived first at Hollingworth Hall and died at Mottram
Old Hall but in 1810 purchased from the Tattons, THORNCLIFFE HALL (Cheshire) which he
'embellished'. Thorncliffe during the 1700s
was the home of the Bretlands and was always
considered the most important of the local 'Halls'. It, like Hollingworth was to pass to Martha Wood (niece of George)
and she married Edwin Hugh Shelland. It is believed
other Hollingworths later purchased it but most of it
was later demolished, though bits still stand. George also held all the other
estates - Hadfield, Ireland etc.etc,
he was a Captain in the Militia and traveled widely in Europe. After his death,
his brother Samuel (1777-1842) erected a statue of him at Mottram
Old Hall - only its plaque now survives.
Mottram Old Hall together with the Hadfield
estate at Hadfield and much of the other lands and
wealth of George and his brothers Moses and Samuel passed after 1844 to George Woodhead, son of their sister Martha (1769-1818) - it was
hoped he would take the name Hadfield to continue the
line but he never did. On his death and that of his sister Betsy Woodhead, both without issue, in 1861, Mottram
Old Hall passed to John Wood (1815-1889) of ARDEN HALL, Stockport. He was the brother of
Martha Wood - both children of Hannah Hadfield
(17790-1827) the sister of George, Moses and Samuel. After passing through
various other owners Mottram Old Hall was purchased
in 1962 by Judge Philip Curtis (1908-1998)
At Symondley there was also another Hall - LEES HALL. This was much
older than the other Halls as it may have been the demesne farm of Abbots of Basingwerk in the 1200s - it exists today, though very much
altered. It came to the Hadfields when the Reverend
John Hadfield (1704-1781) married its heiress
Elizabeth Garside (1709-1782) in 1728. The Reverend came from along line of Hadfields at Padfield - not the
ones of adjacent Hadfield. It was then occupied by
Charles (1735-1795) second son of the Reverend, who, amongst many other
activities, built a mill and crated nearby Charlestown.
Charles's
son and heir was Joseph Hadfield (1779-1854) and in
1801 Joseph married Mary Ellison (1782-1864) daughter of Mathew Ellison
(1751-1834), agent of the Duke of Norfolk who owned most of Glossop.
Their son Mathew Ellison Hadfield (1812-1885) became chief
architect for the Duke of Norfolk and he and his son and grandson were to be
responsible for designing many important Victorian buildings at Glossop and elsewhere - in particular, they were
responsible for the alterations to Glossop church.
Several of Joseph's daughters continued at Lees Hall to 1895.
Near
the head of the Longdendale Valley, then in Cheshire,
was CROWDEN HALL built in 1692 by
another Thomas Hadfield. Once again his ancestors
were Padfield rather than Hadfield
Hadfields. This Thomas died in 1697 but his Hall
survived until 1937. The Hadfield line continues
there to Thomas (1735-1804), the builder's great grandson. His son, John
(1756-1803) was hanged at Carlisle in 1803 and was the subject for Melvyn
Bragg's novel 'The Maid of Buttermere'.
DUKINFIELD OLD HALL. There is
little information relating to the first Hall but what is traditionary.
It was built at a very early period on the Cheshire bank of the river Tame,
opposite to that of Ashton, to resist any invasions from Lancashire. No trace
of the old building remains, although the site is still known as The Hall
Green. The present building (demolished 1951), also named the Old Hall, was for
several centuries the residence of the Dukinfields.
It was a large half-timbered house erected in the reign of Henry VIII in the
picturesque style then prevailing, having bold, overhanging bressumers
and gables ornamented with trefoils and other characteristic timber-work. The
entrance was through a low pointed doorway having a very heavy door and it is
believed to have been protected on the land side by a moat. It continued to be
the residence of the Dukinfields until after the
middle of the last century, when Lord Astley, Esq.,
built Dukinfield Lodge, since which time the Old Hall
has gradually fallen to decay. It had attached to it a chapel which no doubt
succeeded an earlier one, to which the Bishop of Lichfield
granted a license, on 10 October 1398, to John de Dukinfield
for its use as an oratory for the ministrations by the family priest. It stands
at right angles with the north-east end of the hall and formerly consisted of a
nave and a chancel. Sir Peter Leycester, in 1669,
includes it among the chapels of ease in the Parish of Stockport, but there is
no proof of its having been used except as a domestic chapel.
Dukinfield Lodge was built for a residence by John Astley, Esq., after his marriage with Lady Dukinfield Daniel. It is beautifully situated on an
eminence overlooking the river Tame, and is now the residence of George Newton,
Esq. It was surrounded by a park of considerable extent, the larger portion of
which has been converted into a cemetery for Dukinfield,
Staley Bridge, and Ashton.
DUKINFIELD HALL, for so many
years the home of the Dukinfields, is situated on low
ground, not far from the Tame, and although it is some distance from the town
of Dukinfield, is now nearly surrounded by factories
and houses. It has been much altered of late years, particularly when it was
divided into cottages, and the old mullioned windows replaced by smaller modern
ones. It is a spacious half-timbered building in the well-known Cheshire
black-and-white style, the details of which are now hidden under the plaster
with which the greater part of the walls have been covered; but on the
southeastern side and the three gables the timber-work is still shown. The
north-eastern side, has three projecting bays with gables; the largest gable is
an overhanging one, and is ornamented with quatrefoiling
placed in square divisions, whilst of the other two, the nearer one has quatrefoiling in diagonal divisions, and the further one
has a simple upright post with radiating diagonals on either side. The
ornamentation of the larger bay (now hidden) but of that of the smaller bays
and the central portion of the Hall no traces are now visible, nor has any
description or sketch of it been met with. There can be no doubt that the whole
of the Hall was ornamented in a somewhat similar manner to that of the larger
bay and gable. The entrance was through an obtusely-pointed arched doorway, the
heavy old oak door of which existed till lately. The old window above this
arched doorway had three ornamentation, except in the gables, was then hidden
under the narrow lights. The southwestern front has been rebuilt with brick,
but there was a gabled bay corresponding with the larger one on the other side,
and two other gables at the western end. The northwestern end is also of brick.
The interior of the Hall now presents few features of interest. Some of the
rooms still retain their paneled walls, and have traces of the old fireplaces.
Lower rooms contain a shield of arms of eight quarters, Dukinfield
quartering Holland and allied coats. This would fix the date of that portion of
the Hall as early in the 17th century, the marriage with the heiress of the Hollands having taken place c1593. It is said that there
was a moat round the Hall; but no traces of it now remain.
The
Chapel belonging to the Hall stands at right angles to it, projecting from the
northern end on the north-eastern side. It has recently been altered, and a
large addition built on to it, so as to adapt it for the purposes of a
Nonconformist Chapel. Before these alterations, it consisted of a small nave
and chancel, separated by a semicircular arch. The walls are very thick and
have round-headed windows of three lights each, and date at about the early
part of the 17th century. At the western end of the roof was a small hexagonal
bell-cupola, still remaining. At the present time the chancel is not used, and
is full of rubbish, whilst the old nave forms a sort of transept to the new
Chapel, which projects at right angles to it, and which has been built in a
similar style of architecture. On the floor of the old chancel were three flat
tombstones, two of which still remain, but the third has been wantonly broken
of late years. They bore the following inscriptions:
"Here Resteth
the Body of Sir Robert Dukinfield of Dukinfield, Baronet, who departed this Life November the
6th, 1729, in the 88th Year of his Age."
"Here resteth
the Body of Susanna, Daughter of Sir Robert and the Lady Susanna Dukinfield, who departed this Life, January the ?, in the
Year 1722, and in the 34th Year of her Age."
"Here Resteth
the Body of Martha, Daughter of Sir Robert and the Lady Jane Dukinfield, who departed this Life, September the 13th in
the Year 1723, and in the 5th Year of her Age."
Bishop
Gastrell, states that this Chapel was licensed as a
private oratory to the Dukinfields in 1398. Searches
have been made at Lichfield, in the Episcopal
Registers there, to verify this statement, but so far with a negative result
only. It appears to have always been a domestic Chapel, and not a
Chapel-of-Ease to Stockport.
Together
with Francis Dukinfield Ramsear
Astley Esq. and his son John Ramsear
Astley, Thomas Hadfield
(1780-1862) and his son, Samuel (1813-1866), all lived at Dukinfield
Hall between 1820 and 1866. The Hadfields' conducted
their extensive hat manufacturing business from buildings located within the
grounds of The Hall. Many of the houses ('Hadfield
Houses') located in nearby Hadfield Street off Astley Street, Globe Square, were also owned by Thomas and
Samuel. Being in an advanced state of decay and disrepair, The Hall was
eventually demolished in 1951.
It is
worth pointing out that the words 'Dukinfield Hall'
were also used to denote an area, particularly when used on BDM certificates.
The area appears to have taken into account Globe Square, Globe Lane, Hadfield Street and adjacent parts of Astley
and Ashton Streets.