t Ml ] 



:.. 



AGECROFT 

 . . . HALL, 



LANCASHIRE. 



Ar. RO5ER1 DAUNTESEY. 







Al( K-'r-T HAl.l. is one of those strongly in.li- 

 vidualisi-J inanviins <>i ancient date in which the 

 county palatine >i Lancaster is M'ij;ul.irly rich 

 \Vh it th.it district of Hn<*l:iiKl n .iy lack in the Denial 

 climate that \i-ts tlu- hrick dwelling-places "I 

 Southern hn^lanJ with those lichens which, in tlv ir hues of 

 trance, yellow, ^ren. and yrey. l"fm so inu inpar.ible a 

 vesture, it lias nunpi nsatmn for in those "magpie" m 

 structures, impressive in time-worn oak, rich in beautiful 

 c.imi.n. picturesque in their many ables and their prey slate 

 , \\hich <iit>\\- mellow under rain and Min. When such 

 h-uise- .ire \.i:-.ie.l and preserved like the old mansion house of 

 '<>tt, and others illustrated in this volume, and are made 

 beautiful with gardens and pleasure grounds, they do most 

 certainly desi-rve to hold a hi^h place amon^ the quaint and 

 beautiful mansions nj the shires. \^,-v.roft is both fortunate 

 and unfortunate fortunate in the lov.n^ care which adds IHAV 

 .ty ti> its antiquity, unfortunate in ihe fact that the country 

 thereabout U much ^iven over to the busy whirl of modern 

 things. Yet ndvantajies mnv be won even where discouragement 



miyht prevail, and thus J,. M - ! -\_i-.mit Hal: 

 l.-ke, formed bv the sinUinj of the ^r und. n\vm^ \ io.il HIMU-N 

 below, and Constituting a veiy pleasing feature amid the t 

 o\c-r-hun^ by flowering bushes in the garden. The !rwelll1o\\s 

 ntar by ; in truth, somewhat lower down, .1 M\^ian str.-aii). 

 bearing in waters no longer pellucid the waste products ni 

 many manufacUii \ stln l--ss, the course of the river in 



this part of the valley has considt-raHe elements uf beauty, 

 and the winding stream, with overhanging WIHK!S, is n.it 

 without attractions. 



A^ecroft Ha I stands upon a low tongue "I land which heie 

 stretches dow n from Pendlebury into the \alley, and the louse 

 is ptdha|i|y, as the crow flies, not more than four miles imm 

 Manchester Cathedral. These .UK ient halls man le-t a predile, 

 lion on the part of tlie'r build-.-is for the neighbourhood of rivers. 

 It was coiuenieiit to h.ui- water near, and very open the 

 stream possessed sonr.- advantages in the matter of defence. 

 tt is inteiestiiin to ob erve that near these aiu lent oaken 

 structures we rarely find much in the way ' formal ^.udenin-, 

 and, save tor a bridge or a garden seat, the aid; tect seems 



THE SIDE PASSAGE IN THE QUADRANGLE. 



