Wycoller Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wycoller Hall |
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The remains of the great hall.
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Wycoller, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53°50′57″N 2°06′14″W / 53.8491°N 2.1038°W |
| Construction started | Mid sixteenth century |
| Completed | 1596 |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name: Remains of Wycoller Hall, including boundary wall to river | |
| Designated: | 23 April 1952 |
| Reference #: | 1073331 |
| Official name: Wycoller Hall | |
| Reference #: | 1003130 |
Wycoller Hall was a large house built in the late 1500s. It was located in the village of Wycoller, Lancashire, England. This grand house was once the center of a big estate. Over time, it slowly fell apart. Today, its ruins are protected as a listed building. They are part of the beautiful Wycoller Country Park.
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The Story of Wycoller Hall
Wycoller Hall was built around the end of the 16th century. It stood on the same spot as an older house from 1507. A much bigger house was built here by the 1590s. This new building replaced the original home.
The estate then became owned by the Cunliffe family. This happened when Piers Hartley's daughter, Elizabeth, married Nicholas Cunliffe in 1611. They had many children. One of them, John, married Grace Hartley in 1628.
The Cunliffes moved to Wycoller in the 1720s. They had lost their family home because of money problems. The estate was then passed down through several brothers. All of them died without having children.
Eventually, the hall went to Henry Owen. He was the grandson of one of the sisters. Henry had to take the name Cunliffe to inherit the property. He became Henry Owen Cunliffe, the new owner. He started a big building project for the hall. He wanted to make it grand enough for his position. He also hoped it would help him find a wife.
The building work took over a year to finish. Henry lived in a nearby pub during this time. The changes included a new entrance porch. Many windows with stone frames were added. The inside of the house was also made more modern.
By the time it was done, Henry had married. He and his wife moved into the hall. They enjoyed their new life there. However, Henry loved sports and gambling. He ended up owing a lot of money. When he died in 1818, his nephew, Charles Cunliffe Owen, took over. But Charles could not pay off the debts. So, the estate was sold off to the people Henry owed money to.
The hall then went to a distant relative, John Oldham. Later, it passed to Rev. John Roberts Oldham. He arranged for many of the hall's stones to be sold. These stones were used to build a cotton mill in Trawden.
Even after this, much of the hall remained until the late 1800s. It was empty and slowly falling apart. More stones were taken for other local buildings. The entire village later became owned by the local Water Board. But the hall continued to crumble.
In 1948, a group called 'The Friends of Wycoller' was started. They wanted to save the historic village. They worked on the hall, even fixing its fireplace in the 1950s. In 1973, Lancashire County Council bought the whole area. They made the village a special conservation area. The land around it, about 350 acres, became a Country Park. The ruins of the hall are now a protected ancient monument. They are also a Grade II* listed building. You can find an exhibition about the hall and village history in a barn nearby.
What Wycoller Hall Looked Like
The house had a grand two-story entrance porch. This porch was removed in the 1870s. It was then rebuilt in Trawden. The porch led into the great hall. A large stone fireplace was the main feature there. On the right side of the fireplace, there was a keyhole-shaped opening. No one knows what it was for.
The part of the house rebuilt by Henry Owen Cunliffe was three stories high. It had drawing rooms, sitting rooms, and bedrooms. The kitchens were located behind the main hall. Beyond the main building, there was a courtyard. It had a coach-house and stables. Gardens were also added during Henry Owen Cunliffe's time. There was even a cock pit for rooster fights. In its last years, the house was divided into two parts. Two different families lived there.
Wycoller in Books and Poems
The old picture of celebrations in the hall (from 1650) inspired a poem. It was written by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. The poem is called Christmas in the Olden Time, 1650. You can read it online.
Christmas in the Olden Time, 1650, a poem by L. E. L..
Wycoller and the Brontë Sisters
Wycoller Hall is believed to be the inspiration for Ferndean Manor. This is a fictional house in Charlotte Brontë's famous book, Jane Eyre. The Brontë sisters lived in the nearby village of Haworth. The family likely visited Wycoller during their walks.
People have also noticed similarities between Mr. Rochester's father in the book and Henry Owen Cunliffe. Both were owners of grand houses. Also, one of the hall's residents, Elizabeth Cunliffe, married and became Elizabeth Eyre. Wycoller Hall was even shown on the cover of the 1898 edition of Jane Eyre.
Ghosts of Wycoller Hall
Wycoller and its hall are also known for several ghost stories.
The Phantom Horseman
One story is about the murder of a squire's wife. The squire was named Simon Cunliffe. This happened during the time of King Charles II. The squire and his hunting dogs were chasing a fox. The fox ran into the hall and up into the woman's room. The dogs followed and attacked the fox. Simon Cunliffe rode his horse right into the hall and up the stairs. He found his wife scared by the scene. He yelled at her for being a coward. He then raised his hunting whip as if to hit her. She died from fright.
People say the squire's ghost still returns to the hall at night. He is dressed in clothes from the early Stuart era. You can hear his horse's hooves clattering across the bridge. Then you hear them going up to the hall door and up the stairs. After that, a woman's screams are heard. The ghost then leaves the way he came. He is supposedly seen once a year. This happens during stormy weather after dark. In 1996, two paranormal investigators recorded a sound like a riding whip.
The ghost of the murdered woman has also appeared. She was seen once by two people at the hall. The ghost wore a black silk dress. She predicted that the Cunliffes would fall and the hall would be ruined. She was later seen by two workmen. But she has not been seen since the last Cunliffe of Wycoller died. Even though these stories are exciting, there was never a squire named Simon Cunliffe at Wycoller.
