A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



the Morris family." Christopher Norris, who died 

 in 1639, held fifteen messuages, a corn-mill, two 

 fulling mills, and lands in Tonge of the heirs of 

 Edward Hilton, late of Brindle, in socage, by a rent 

 of l 2</. 13 Alexander Norris, his son, took the Parlia- 

 ment's side in the Civil War, and was treasurer of the 

 Sequestration Committee in Lancashire. 14 His elder 

 daughter Alice married John Starkie of the Huntroyde 

 family, 15 and Hall i' th' Wood descended in this 

 family until iSgg. 16 



Hall i' th' Wood, as it is usually called, stands in 

 what must formerly have been a romantic situation 

 near the edge of Tonge Moor, crowning a steep cliff 

 overlooking the Eagley Brook. Of the woodland 

 which gave the house its name little or nothing 

 remains, though the view up the valley northwards 

 yet retains some elements of picturesqueness. The 

 approach to the house was formerly only from the 

 moor, the road down the hillside on the north being 

 of comparatively modern date. 



NORRIS. Quarterly ar- 

 gent and gules, in the se- 

 cond and third quarters 

 a fret or, over all a feat 

 azure. 



STARKIE of Hunt- 

 royde. Argent a bend 

 sable between six storks 

 proper. 



The original house was a timber and plaster build- 

 ing on a low stone base, dating probably from the 

 end of the I5th or beginning of the i6th century, 

 A stone-built north-west wing was added in 1591. 

 and in the middle of the 1 7th century a south-west 

 wing and a south porch, also of stone. The 17th- 

 century work harmonizes very well with the earlier 

 timbered building, producing a very picturesque if 

 unpremeditated effect as the house is approached from 

 the south-east. 



The bui'di -g, which is of two stories with attics, 

 roofed with stone slates, is very irregular in plan, and 

 follows no recognized type. The older part of the 

 house, however, preserves the usual arrangement of 

 the great hall, standing north and south, with screens 

 and passage at the lower end, though the screens have 

 now disappeared. Beyond the passage to the north 

 are two rooms, presumably the former kitchen and 



pantries, but this part of the building has been so 

 much altered in later times, and in the recent restora- 

 tion, that the exact arrangement has been lost. 



The history of the house would seem to be as 

 follows : The original building of timber and plaster 

 which now forms the whole of the east and part of 

 the south side was probably in form and extent much 

 as at present, with the main roof of the hall running 

 north and south, and with a cross roof at the north 

 end. The plan may have been T-shaped, with a 

 very short cross-piece, but was most probably a paral- 

 lelogram about 55ft. long and 23ft. wide, with a 

 slightly projecting wing at the north-east. The whole 

 of this building was presumably of timber and plaster 

 on a stone base. Later the north and north-west 

 sides were rebuilt in stone, and at the same time the 

 west wall of the north front appears to have been 

 advanced about 6 ft., giving more space to the kitchen 

 and room over. From the middle to the end of the 

 1 6th century Hall i' th' Wood preserved its original 

 plan with the exception of this extension on the north- 

 west, but its aspect must have been much changed by 

 the stone facing on its north and west sides. The 

 thickness of the wall between the kitchen and the later 

 extension westward, and the signs of weather on its 

 west face, would seem to show that it was originally 

 built as an outer wall, and the arrangement of the 

 roof and ceiling beams of the north part of the build- 

 ing suggests that it is later than the first timber build- 

 ing. 



The date of the north-west wing (1591) is over 

 the fireplace in the bedroom on the first floor, toge- 

 ther with the initials L ^ B> which stand for Lawrence 

 and Bridget (?) Brownlow. The staircase may have 

 been built at the same time, 17 but a joint in the 

 masonry near the angle between it and the north- 

 west wing would seem to suggest that it was rebuilt 

 or refaced at a later date. The north-west wing 

 along with all the exterior stone walling on the north 

 side of the house is of rough coursed rubble with 

 dressed quoins. 



A further addition to the house was the south-west! 

 wing added by Alexander Norris in 1648, the south' 

 porch and south-west staircase being built at the same 

 time. This later portion of the house is faced with 

 ashlar, and has a stone gable to the west with a semi- 

 hexagonal bay window on each floor. 



The junction of the 17th-century building with 

 the older timber and plaster work is rather clumsily 

 effected at the top, the stone parapet of Norris's ex- 

 tension butting awkwardly against the side of the 

 timber gable, but otherwise the old and the new work 



dispute, ending in Lawrence's making a 

 lease of part of the estate to the use of 

 Charles Brownlow and his heirs male, 

 and in 1594 Lawrence the younger son 

 of Charles claimed possession, his elder 

 brother Roger having died without a son ; 

 Irvine, op. cit. 302 (quoting Duchy of 

 Lane. Plead. Eliz. clxii, B, 12; clxviii, 

 B, 17). It seems to be the will (1622) 

 of this Lawrence son of Charles which is 

 printed ibid. 29. 



Lawrence Brownlow of the Hall built 

 a north-west wing in 1591, as the initials 

 in one of the rooms prove. He died in 

 1634, and his heir then sold the estate 

 to Christopher Norris ; ibid. 9, 10, 12. 

 He was among the freeholders in 1600, 

 and contributed to the subsidy in 1622 ; 

 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 



248, 159. He founded a corn charity. 

 He had a son and heir Lawrence ; Hunt- 

 royde D. B 80-2. 



A fine of 1587 regarding the fourth 

 part of an estate in Tonge and Salford, 

 belonging to Alice Balshaye, may have 

 reference to this township ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 49, m. 244. 



19 For an account of this family see 

 Ormerod, Parentalia, 48-54. The first 

 known member of this branch was Alex- 

 ander Norris, a prosperous tradesman of 

 Bolton, who died in 1603 ; his will is 

 printed by Mr. Irvine, op. cit. 32. Chris- 

 topher Norris was one of his sons, and 

 was a clothier in Bolton. 



13 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m., xxx, no. 

 26; Irvine, op. cit. 36 (will at p. 35). 

 He also held houses and lands in Bolton 



2 5 6 



and Turton. The rent paid for Tonge 

 shows that there is another portion not 

 accounted for. Alexander the son and- 

 heir was thirty-five years of age. 



14 Ibid. 17. He built the south-west 

 wing, the stone-fronted part of the house.. 

 He retained his connexion with the Bol- 

 ton business. His will with inventory is 

 printed ibid. 37-40. 



15 The manor of Tonge is named in a 

 deed of 1713 between Piers Starkie of 

 the one part and John Starkie of the 

 other, enrolled in the Common Pleas ; 

 R. 40, Hil. 17 Geo. III. 



16 Irvine, op. cit. 19-23, 40. 



*7 The position of the original staircase 

 can only be conjectured. It may have 

 been in any of three places, at the north- 

 west, at the south-west, or at the north. 



