SALFORD HUNDRED 



MANCHESTER 



fortunately many of the documents relating to the 

 early history of the college perished in the Fire of 

 London, and the feoffees' minute-book does not 

 contain any records of alterations of importance 

 during the earlier occupancy of the college as a 

 hospital, though it is clear that considerable recon- 

 struction must have then taken place. 



After the dissolution of the collegiate body in 1547 

 the buildings were used by several members of the 

 family of the Earl of Derby, into whose hands they 

 passed, as a temporary residence, and that work was 

 done at that time is evidenced by the presence of the 

 Stanley badges in different parts ; but after the seques- 

 tration of the Derby estates the buildings were allowed 

 to fall into a dilapidated state, and were probably in 

 a more or less ruinous condition when taken over 

 by Humphrey Chetham's executors in 1654. The 

 restoration at that time, however, besides putting the 

 place in repair, involved considerable alterations in 

 adapting the old college to its new use as a hospital 

 and library. The chief of these changes — the stair- 

 case in the north-east of the quadrangle and the con- 

 version of the dormitories into a library — are clearly 

 evident. The gateway in Long Millgate was rebuilt 

 in 1816, and in recent years (1883-95) the buildings 

 have been thoroughly restored. 



The work done between these latter dates included 

 the restoration of the dining-hall, reading-room, library, 

 kitchen, dormitories, cloister, stairs, house, governor's 

 room, the rebuilding of the ingle-nook in the hall. 

 The cost was borne by Oliver and Charles James 

 Heywood. 



The chief feature of the building is the quadrangle 

 round which the fellows' rooms and the great hall 

 are grouped, which measures 40 ft. in length from 

 north to south. Its width is 20 ft., but was probably 

 in the first instance more, a good many changes having 

 apparently taken place on the east side where the 

 hall is situated. The cloisters themselves have been 

 thought to be an addition, the supposition, however, 

 being chiefly based on a portion of what appears to 

 be an older plinth at the north-east comer, now 

 partly hidden by the 17th-century staircase, which is 

 of different height, and chamfered instead of being 

 moulded. This plinth, but hollow-chamfered, recurs 

 at the south-east corner at the end of the south wall, 

 and is returned as far as the present east wall of the 

 quadrangle, supporting the theory that the stone 

 stairs from the hall to the reading-room are part of 

 the first building. The difficulties of assigning dates 

 to the various parts of the building round the quad- 

 rangle, however, are great, and it is, perhaps, safest to 

 assume that the work was more or less continuous, 

 but that changes were made from time to time in 

 the originally-planned arrangement. It is unreason- 

 able to suppose that the doors to the living-rooms 

 were meant to open straight on to the quadrangle, 

 and unless we assume some such proposition the cloister 

 on the north, west, and south sides must have been 

 part of the original intention. The rooms are 16 ft. 

 square, with windows facing outwards, and each with a 

 separate door to the cloister. Those on the north, 

 three in number, are now used as offices or servants' 

 rooms in connexion with the hospital, while the three 

 rooms on the west are in use for various purposes 

 connected with the library. The room in the south- 

 west corner has been altered by the erection in part 

 of it of a new staircase to the library over, this stair- 



case being that used by visitors to the reading-room. 

 The larger room on the south side is now divided 

 into two, one of which is called the teachers' and 

 the other the muniment room. The cloister walk is 

 6 ft. 6 in. wide with stone-flagged floor and oak ceiling, 

 and has an upper walk giving access in a similar way to 

 that below to the separate dormitories. If the cloister 

 had been an afterthought, as is sometimes stated, this 

 would mean that the dormitories could have had no 

 separate entrances ; and though this in itself is not 

 unlikely, it at the same time makes the upper door- 

 ways of the rooms to be of later date than the wall, of 

 which there is no evidence. It seems reasonable to 

 believe, therefore, that the upper cloister, like the one 

 below, was part of the original plan. On the west side 

 the cloister consists of six bays, each with a three-light 

 window under a plain four-centred arch without a 

 label, the lights having cinquefoiled heads. The win- 

 dows are separated by buttresses of two stages running 

 up to within 3 ft. of the eaves, and in the upper story 

 there is a window of two trefoiled lights in each 

 alternate bay. The south side of the cloister consists 

 of three similar bays, but on the north the introduc- 

 tion of the staircase has reduced the number to two, 

 the destroyed bay being probably that in which the 

 entrance to the quadrangle was situated. The present 

 entrance is by a modern doorway cut through the 

 second window from the south on the west side. 

 The east side is occupied by the projecting ingle- 

 nook and recess of the great hall with the staircase 

 adjoining, leading over the cloister walls to the 

 warden's rooms. There seem to have been a good 

 many alterations on this side of the court from time 

 to time, and the ingle-nook has been entirely rebuilt 

 in recent years ; but it is not at all certain that the 

 west wall of the hall originally ran right through and 

 that the staircase is a later addition, although the 

 manner in which the buttress of the cloister finishes 

 against it suggests an alteration of some sort. The 

 staircase, however, and the room over it, belong to 

 the days of the college, though they may be con- 

 siderably later than 1422. The quadrangle with its 

 cobble-stone pavement and old well-head, though 

 small, is a very charming feature of the building, its 

 walls not having been so thoroughly restored as those 

 of other parts, though some portions of the stonework 

 of the windows have been renewed. Some of the old 

 wooden lattices with which the windows were once 

 filled are yet in existence. 



The great hall, which is paved with stone flags, is 

 43 ft. 6 in. long by 24 ft. wide, 22 ft. in height 

 from the floor to the wall-plate, and about 3 5 ft. to 

 the ridge. The roof is open-timbered and divided 

 into three bays by two principals, between which are 

 solid framed spars, and the walls are of dressed stone 

 their entire height. The screens are at the north 

 end, entered through the porch on the east, with the 

 usual two doorways and buttery and pantry on the 

 north, and at the south end is the dais with a fine 

 panelled and battlemented canopy over. The oak 

 screen is simple in detail, and only 7 ft. in height, 

 of contemporary date with the hall, but with a later 

 embattled cresting. It is a very good early example, 

 consisting of two speres set against the walls, and a 

 movable middle length. There are no remains of a 

 gallery over it, and in the first instance it probably 

 had none. The room is lit by three two-light mul- 

 lioned and transomed windows on the east side, and 



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