| Speke Hall | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Tudor |
| Town or city | Liverpool |
| Country | England |
| Construction started | 1530 |
| Completed | 1598 |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Timber wattle and daub |
Speke Hall is a wood-framed wattle-and-daub Tudor manor house in Speke, Liverpool, England. It is one of the finest surviving examples of its kind.
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History [link]
Construction of the current building began in 1530,[1] though earlier buildings had been on the site, parts of which are incorporated into today's structure. The Great Hall was the first part of the house to be built, in 1530. The Great (or Oak) Parlour) wing was added in 1531. Around this time the North Bay was also added to the house. Between 1540 and 1570 the south wing was altered and extended. The west wing was added between 1546 and 1547. The last significant change to the building was in 1598, when the north range was added by Edward Norris. Since then there have only been minor changes to the Hall and gardens.
The oak frame, typical of the period, rests on a base of red sandstone surrounded by a now dry moat. The main beams of the house are stiffened with smaller timbers and filled with wattle and daub.
The house features a thunderbox toilet, a priest hole and a special observation hole built into a chimney in a bedroom to allow the occupant to see the approach to the house to warn the priest that people were coming. There is also an eavesdrop (a small open hole under the eaves of the house) which allowed a servant to listen in on the conversations of people awaiting admission at the original front door.
In 1612 a porch was added to the Great Parlour. A laundry and dairy were founded in 1860; the laundry was altered in the 1950s.
The house belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public. The house was owned by the Norris family for many generations until the female heiress married into the Beauclerk family. The Watt family purchased the house and estate from the Beauclerks in 1795. The last surviving heir of the Watt family was Miss Adelaide Watt, who inhertited the house and returned to it in 1878 at the age of 21 years. She died in 1921, leaving the house and estate in trust for 21 years, during which time it was looked after by the staff under the supervision of Thomas Whatmore, who had been butler to Miss Watt.[2] At the end of this period, in 1942, the house passed into the ownership of the National Trust. The house was administered by Liverpool City Corporation from 1946 until 1986, when the National Trust took over full responsibility.
Previous owners were the Norrises,[3] the Beauclerks[4] and the Watts.[5]
The gardens date from the 1850s. In the main building there are two Yew trees called Adam and Eve which are estimated to be between 500 and 1000 years old.[6]
Today [link]
The Home Farm building has been renovated and now houses the shop, restaurant and reception. The laundry has been converted into the education room and the dairy now has new interpretation. Walks in the grounds give panoramic views over the Mersey Basin towards North Wales.
Speke Hall was featured in Series 13 of Most Haunted which was broadcast on Living TV on 13 October 2009.
References [link]
External links [link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Speke Hall |
Coordinates: 53°20′12″N 2°52′27″W / 53.3368°N 2.87422°W
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https://wn.com/Speke_Hall
Speke
Coordinates: 53°20′27″N 2°50′28″W / 53.3409°N 2.8410°W
Speke (/ˈspiːk/) is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, close to the boundaries of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It is 7.7 miles (12.4 km) south east of the city centre and to the west of the town of Widnes.
Speke is bordered by a number of other areas; Garston, Hunts Cross, Halewood and Hale Village and is located near to the widest part of the River Mersey.
History
The name derives from the Old English Spec, meaning 'brushwood'. It was known as Spec in the Domesday Book, which gave Speke Hall as one of the properties held by Uctred. (Today Speke Hall, now a Tudor wood-framed house, is open to the public.)
In the mid 14th century, the manors of Speke, Whiston, Skelmersdale, and Parr were held by William Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre.
Until the 1930s, Speke was a small village with a population of 400; by the end of the 1950s more than 25,000 people were living in the area. The local All Saints Church was built by the last resident owner of Speke Hall, Miss Adelaide Watt.
Speke (disambiguation)
Speke may refer to:
Speke (1789)
The Speke was a 473 ton sailing ship built by Mr Gillet in 1789 at Calcutta, India.
Under the command of John Hingston, she sailed from Falmouth, England on 18 May 1808, with 99 female convicts. She arrived at Port Jackson on 16 November 1808. Two female convicts died on the voyage. Speke sailed on 12 January 1809 from Port Jackson to undertake whaling or sealing. Upon hearing of the story of the Boyd massacre, the Speke together with the Inspector, Diana, Atalanta and Perseveance attack Te Pahi's pa on Te Puna island killing approximately 60 Māori. Te Pahi was wounded and died a few weeks later.
On her second voyage, under the command of Peter McPherson, she sailed from England on 22 December 1820, with 156 male convicts. She arrived at Port Jackson on 18 May 1821. Two male convicts died on the voyage.
Her fate is unknown.
Citations
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