Old Hall, Wolverhampton
| Old Hall | |
|---|---|
The Old Hall as being demolished in 1883 | |
| Former names |
|
| General information | |
| Status | Ruined |
| Type | Manor house |
| Location | Old Hall Street, Wolverhampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°35′00″N 2°07′26″W / 52.5833°N 2.1239°W |
| Construction started | No earlier than 1553 |
| Estimated completion | c. 1570s |
| Renovated | 1702–35 |
| Closed | 1882 |
| Demolished | 1883 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | Three |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Leveson family |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect(s) | John Turton |
The Old Hall, also known as the Great Hall or Turton's Hall and later the Old Hall Works, is a former manor house in Wolverhampton in England. It was once a large building surrounded by a moat and only ruins exist today.
History
The earliest house on the site built by the Leveson family was a smaller timber-framed building that existed during the 1530s when it was mentioned by John Leyland;[1] this building was probably gone by 1553.
Alongside a similar property in Willenhall,[3] the Old Hall was probably built during the 1570s by the Wolverhampton branch of the Leveson family.[4][nb 1] Walter Leveson sold the Old Hall to Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford when he left Wolverhampton in 1666.[4] Joseph Turton purchased the property by 1702 and shortly after, he repaired the ruined building, extended and backfilled the moat and lowered the roof.[5] The Turton family abandoned the Old Hall in 1735, and it first appears on a map of Wolverhampton published by Thomas Jeffreys and Isaac Taylor in 1751.[2]
The building became a japanning factory in 1767, with associated factories being built across the orchard once associated with the Old Hall. Jones & Taylor was established at the Old Hall in 1770, and it was taken over by brothers William and Obadiah Ryton around 1783.[6] Obadiah died in 1810, and William continued the business alongside Benjamin Ryton as Ryton & Walton until 1843, when Ryton retired and his son Frederick took over in 1853[7] to rename the business as F. Ryton and Co.[8][9] The japanning factory that became known as the Old Hall Works was in decline by 1874,[4] and it closed in 1882 due to the decline of the japanning industry.[7]
The moat was filled in between the 1830s and 1852,[2] and St George's School was built on the site of the moat in 1842.
The Old Hall was demolished in 1883 following the closure of the Old Hall Works one year prior.[2] In 1899, T. H. Fleeming and Son opened a teacher training college now known as was opened on the site and Old Hall Street, which was created to follow a path directly through the site of the Old Hall.[5] Adult Education Wolverhampton has occupied the building since the 1970s and the area was resurfaced in 2004.[10]
Excavation
In 1998, a sandstone wall belonging to the Old Hall was excavated,[11] and in 2000, part of the moat was identified.[12]
The Old Hall was excavated between 2000 and 2003,[13] 2007,[14] and again between 2020 and 2021.[4]
The earlier excavations of 2000–03 and 2007 by Birmingham Archaeology excavated the northeast corner of the building and identified the locations of the moat and the inner curtain wall,[1][14] while the 2020–21 excavations also surveyed the southwestern corner of the building, discovering a section of the Old Hall Works.[4]
Description
The Old Hall was a three-storey winged building with turrets located at the northeastern and southeastern corners.[15][16] Across the estate of the Old Hall, barns used for the storage of wool existed.[17] The layout of the building was also remained relatively unchanged during its time as a Japanning factory.[7]
In 1839, William Highfield Jones described the appearance of the building as a "decayed Elizabethan mansion".[4]
Notes
References
- ^ a b "The Old Hall Excavation 2002". www.historywebsite.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d "Old Hall (alias Great Hall, Turton's Hall ); Wolverhampton". www.blackcountryhistory.org. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ "The Growing Town". Willenhall Though The Ages. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Excavating Wolverhampton's Old Hall". www.explorethepast.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Lost Buildings of Wolverhampton — The Old Hall". www.historywebsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ "Ryton & Walton; Walton, F. & Co. (1810-1853)". British and Irish Furniture Makers Online. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ a b c Jones W H. (1900). Story of the Japan Tin Plate Working and Iron Braziers Trades etc in Wolverhampton and District.
- ^ Sproule, The Irish Industrial Exhibition of 1853 (1854)
- ^ "Japanning". www.historywebsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ "Old Hall Street". www.historywebsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Linnane, S J. (1998). St George's Parade, Wolverhampton: Archaeological Recording.
- ^ Watt, Sarah. (2000). Old Hall Street, Wolverhampton. An archaeological desk-based assessment: Phase II.
- ^ Ramsey, Eleanor. (2003). Old Hall Street (South), Wolverhampton. West Midlands Archaeology 46, 171-2.
- ^ a b Breeze Paul. (2007). Old Hall Street, Wolverhampton: An Archaeological Watching Brief 2007.
- ^ White, Hilary. (1996). The Old Hall Site, Wolverhampton: a desk-based assessment.
- ^ Niven W M. (1882). Old Staffordshire Houses. 26.
- ^ Yates W. (1775). A map of the county of Staffordshire. 1:63360.