A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



he was rector of a mediety of Malpas from 1652 to 

 1680, when he resigned,*' dying two years later. His 

 son Edward dying unmarried in 1683 the inheritance 

 went to a daughter Elizabeth, who married Sir John 

 Egerton of Wrinehill, ancestor of the Earl of Wilton, 

 the present lord of Denton." 



Of Denton Old Hall only a fragment remains. 

 The original house appears to have been either quad- 

 rangular or built round three sides of a courtyard, but 

 of this, however, only a portion of the south or centre 

 wing containing the great hall and the smaller chamber 

 beyond is now standing, together with a detached 

 building, now a barn, on the east side, the timber 

 framing of which seems to indicate that it was origi- 

 nally part of the eastern wing. The Hall is now 

 used as a farmhouse, and the present farm buildings, 

 though modern and built of brick and extending very 

 far westward, preserve to some extent what may have 

 been the original quadrangular aspect of the house. 

 Denton Old Hall was one of a number of houses 

 standing in the valley of the Tame, which here separ- 

 ates Lancashire from Cheshire, and stands about half 

 a mile from the north bank. It was a timber-and- 

 plaster building on a low stone base, built apparently 

 in the 15 th century, but has been altered from time 



through-passage from east to west. 



The elevation 



Hali. 



-I'.'.^k'.V^^k'^ 



FEE-i 



16 » Century [|3 Later 

 LP 30 



Bay 



Plan of Denton Hall 



to time and faced with brick at the back and ends. 

 The usual arrangement of the great hall, screens, and 

 the rooms at either end could, till recently, be seen, 

 but internal alterations and the destruction of the west 

 wing have rendered them difficult to follow. The 

 front of the central part of the building faced north to 

 the courtyard, and it is a portion of this which still 

 remains. It is a very simple design made up entirely 

 of crosspieces and uprights, with a cove under the 

 eaves, but without any attempt at ornamentation 

 except in the mouldings of the beam under the cove. 

 The timber front now standing is the north wall of the 

 great hall less the passage at the west end. The screens 

 and the whole of the west end of the building were taken 

 down in 1895. This west wing slightly projected in 

 front of the hall and was about 2 5 ft. in width, and prob- 

 ably contained the kitchen and offices, but they had been 

 much altered on plan by the introduction of a central 



carried on the timber construction of the present front, 

 but with more variety of treatment in its parts. The 

 disappearance of this west wing with its long windaws 

 on each story, its overhanging gables and line of 

 quatrefoil panelling, is very much to be regretted. 

 At the east end of the great hall is what was probably 

 the smaller hall, now entirely refaced in brick with a 

 gable north and south. The roofs are covered with 

 stone slates. 



The great hall, which was 35 ft. long including the 

 passage and 23 ft. in width, had a massive open timber 

 roof, a canopy at the east over the dais, and a gallery at 

 the west end over the passage. It is now divided into 

 two stories by the introduction of a floor, but some 

 idea of the original appearance may still be gathered 

 by an examination of the roof principals and framing 

 in the bedrooms. There was a square bay at the 

 north-east comer of the hall to the left of the high 

 table, but there seems to have originally been no 

 provision for a fireplace. The room was presumably 

 warmed by a brazier, the coupling of the principals in 

 the centre pointing to there having formerly been a 

 louvre in the roof. The height from the floor to the 

 underside of the tie-beam was about 1 7 ft. 6 in., and 

 to the ridge 26 ft. The principals 

 are very plain and are disposed in 

 short bays at either end, with a middle 

 one formed by the coupling for the 

 louvre already mentioned, making three 

 small and two large bays in the length 

 of the apartment. The smaller bay 

 at the west end is over the passage, 

 but at the east the space was taken up 

 by the projecting canopy over the 

 high table. The plainness of the roof 

 was only relieved by curved wind 

 braces. At the west end the gallery 

 occupied the space over the passage, 

 but the screen itself was very plain, 

 being constructed of simple cham- 

 fered posts and crosspieces on a stone base. The high 

 table was lighted from the bay, and there were two 

 windows at the west end of the north side high up in 

 the wall, one lighting the gallery, the other the hall 

 proper. These windows formed a feature of the 

 north elevation, standing out from the wall on a plaster 

 cove, but only one now remains, the other having been 

 destroyed along with the west wing. The present 

 door in the middle of the apartment is quite modern, 

 having been inserted since the disappearance ot the 

 entrance at the west end. There appears also to have 

 been a door at the north-east corner of the hall, now 

 made up, but plainly visible on the outside. From 

 the disposition of the timber framing there does not 

 seem to have been any range of windows on the side 

 of the hall facing the courtyard, the window now on 

 that side, as well as the one on the south, being a 

 modern insertion. At a later time a large fireplace 



Smau-EB 

 Hau. 



OR 



Chamber 



*" He appears to have left Malpas 

 finally about 1676, his reasons for non- 

 residence being printed by Boolcer, op. cit. 

 18, 19 ; his will is printed ibid. 21. 



*^ Ibid, 20 ; see also the account of 

 Hcaton. 'In 1711 the Denton estate of 

 the Hollands, as appertaining to Sir John 

 Egerton in right of his wife, was under 

 lease to twelve tenants, the annual rental 

 amounting to £162 95. 8^. Denton Hall 



and the demesne was in the occupation of 

 one William Bromiley, who paid for it a 

 rent of ^^105 6j. iii. In 1744 the ten- 

 antry numbered eighteen, and the rental had 

 increased to ^2 1 6 zs. zd. In 1780 the 

 same lands were held by seventeen tenants, 

 and were subject to a rent of ,^2 94 6s. id. 

 The entire property was held by lease of 

 lives, and the above returns of rentals are 

 exclusive of fines paid on the renewal of 



3H 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



leases. By the terms of their respective 

 leases the tenants were also pledged to the 

 payment of certain rent-boons consisting 

 of a dog and a cock, or at the landlord's 

 option their equivalent in money — for the 

 dog I OS., for the cock is. — the landlord 

 thus providing for his amusement in hunt- 

 ing and cock-fighting in a manner least 

 onerous to himself ; ibid. 23. 



