SALFORD HUNDRED 



ECCLES 



protected by a moat, but there is no trace of this, and 

 the position of the house, being not far from the 

 River Irwell on the east side, does not make the prob- 

 ability of the moat having existed very great." 



The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from Bolton 

 to Manchester and the Bury Canal both pass close to 

 the house on the north side.*'* 



The entrance to the court is on the east side, and 

 the great hall is at the south end of the west wing, 

 with the former kitchen and scullery at its north end. 

 The chief living rooms are in the south wing, and the 

 north and east wings were occupied by the offices 

 and servants' quarters. The building appears to be 

 of two main dates, but has been very much modernized 

 both inside and out in the middle of the last century, 

 considerable repairs and alterations having taken place 



been rebuilt about a century later, though the south 

 wing has been so much modernized that its original 

 date is somewhat difficult to determine. The great 

 hall shows toward the courtyard a wealth of ornament 

 in the timber framing and gables, in great contrast to 

 the very plain construction of the east front, which 

 consists entirely of horizontal sill pieces and straight 

 uprights with a cove under the eaves. The building 

 is of two stories throughout, about 1 8 ft. to the eaves, 

 and the roofs are covered with grey stone slates, which 

 offer a charming contrast to the black and white work 

 of wood and plaster. The chimneys are of red brick, 

 giving a welcome note of colour, but they are largely 

 rebuilt or covered with ivy. The west side of the 

 house is wholly faced with small 2-in. bricks, and has 

 two projecting plain gables and a large central chim- 



Agecroft Hall 



there about the year 1865-7. There have also been 

 subsequent additions and alterations, the last having 

 taken place in 1 894 after a fire which destroyed the 

 roof of the greater portion of the east and south 

 wings. 



The house was probably begun at the end of the 

 reign of Henry VII, or the beginning of that of 

 ( Henry VIII, and much of the carving under 

 the bay windows on the east side is very Gothic 

 in detail, and of excellent design. The south wing 

 and the greater part of the west wing appear to have 



ney. The general external appearance of the build- 

 ing, however, lacks some measure of that picturesque- 

 ness which is common in many other Lancashire 

 timber houses, owing to the monotony of its main 

 roof-lines, one gable only (that at the end of the south 

 wing facing east) breaking the long perspective of the 

 eaves. The roof of the south elevation, which is 96 ft. 

 in length, is broken by three chimneys, but there is 

 little diversity in the long line of wall, the projections 

 of the chimney, bay windows, and the brick in the 

 walling being very slight. The east or entrance 



« A small pond in the grounds to the 

 south-east of the house is sometimes said 

 to be the remains of the moat, but there 

 seems to be no good evidence of this. The 

 course of the Irwell is stated to have been 



formerly much nearer to the hall, forming 

 a natural protection on that side. 



41a When the line of railway was first 

 projected between Manchester and Bolton, 

 Agecroft Hall narrowly escaped destruc- 



401 



tion, the owner, Mr. Buck, offering the 

 most uncompromising opposition; a slight 

 diversion in the contemplated route of the 

 line was made, and the hall preserved 

 intact. See Booker, Preti^vich, zo 1 . 



SI 



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