Wythenshawe Hall and Park, Northenden, Manchester (Wythenshawe Hall and Park)

Member Name: Shekera

Product:	Wythenshawe Hall and Park
Date:	31/01/02 (163 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free admission to both the Hall and Park. , Good sporting facilities.

Disadvantages: Not much of the Hall is open to the public.

Wythenshawe Hall and Park is situated in Northenden, Manchester. It is set in approximately 250 acres of parkland to the south of Manchester City. The park has recreational facilities including football pitches, bowling greens, tennis courts, and a children’s playground.

The Tatton family built Wythenshawe Hall in 1557 and they resided there until 1926 when Robert Tatton sold the Hall and park to Lord Simon of Wythenshawe. Lord Simon donated the Hall to the City of Manchester for them to use as a municipal park. The Hall has free admission and is well worth a visit but only some of the rooms are open to the public, these include the Drawing Room and the Dining Room. The Drawing Room is located in the oldest part of the original house, which was built in 1540. Here you can see beautiful wall paintings, which were created in celebration of the 16th century marriage between the Tatton’s and the Booth’s of Dunham Massey. Also on view are paintings - exhibitions are held on a regular basis.

The Hall has recently undergone a facelift; its external timbers have been restored with the black and white paint being removed in order to show the façade in a near original condition as possible.

At the back of the Hall are the Victorian gardens which are most splendid and take you back in time – at the front of the Hall is the famous statute of Oliver Cromwell - this statute once stood outside a train station in Deansgate, Manchester City; however, after the station was demolished, the statute was brought to Wythenshawe Park to stand outside Wythenshawe Hall, where battles took place in the civil war in the early 15th century. Oliver Cromwell and his Parliamentary Forces tried to take over Wythenshawe Hall but failed.

As admission to the Park and Hall is free of charge, this makes a great afternoon out – even although not much of the Hall is accessible to the public, it is still worth a visit.

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