Werneth Hall
Werneth Hall, probably the oldest inhabited building in the Oldham area, has been described as the most beautiful building in the district and I firmly support this description. The hall stands at the corner of Frederick Street on the road which bears its name. It is a light brown sandstone structure and is surrounded by a brick wall lined on the inside with old hawthorn trees.
Opinions differ about the date of the hall but there was a hall in the year 1212 (mentioned in Parish records). This building was destroyed by fire in 1456 when it was the home of the Oldham family. The present building on the site of the last named structure is now a stone house and is reputed to be 600 years old. The present hall, however, is a conglomeration of several separate parts and probably dates from late Elizabethan or early Jacobean times. This building had probably a centre building with two wings but only a portion of the old frontage remains. The centre portion has been replaced with a brick cottage which was the huntsman's lodge before it was burned out and rebuilt. The east wing appears to have been extended and mutilated at the top, but whether it was ever a gable end is uncertain. There is an original entrance doorway in the east wing facing towards the south. The old five-light mullioned windows with labels are intact in both wings except for the lower windows where the mullions have been cut out. The west wing runs through the back of the house, where there are two five-light mullioned and transformed windows with label mouldings. A modern stone extension has been made to the house on the west side which effectually hides the old work on that side.
In the year 1216 the Hall belonged to William de Werneth, but was later sold to the Cudworths, who made it the Manor House of Oldham. Then it passed to the Assheton family and was later bought by Marjory Lees, who converted it into flats for her maids. The Hall is scheduled for preservation under the Town and Country Planning Act as a building of architectural and historical interest. The Oldham Corporation have approached Miss Lees to buy it from her and convert it into the Town Museum.
J. P. MAYBURY, S Science.
Invasion - France, 1944
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We slipped out of our moorings, As I paced along the steel deck, The L.C.As. packed full with men, But clear the enemy shore they did. LAWRENCE FEELEY, 2A. |
An Accident
| In the darkness there was a rumble, Coal, bricks and water. They all fell on top of men, Some screamed, some prayed, Prayed that they might live. Men were running, falling, panting, Striving for their safety. Some men succeeded, but others Tried in vain, for they were drowned, Drowned by swirling, angry water. The men who lived to tell the tale Will remember their friends far away. |