1. FRIENDS OF BAGULEY HALL
Above. The Great Hall of Baguley Hall, this is the earliest surviving intact great hall of spere and
truss construction in the country, built 1320
Some Background Information
As you are no doubt aware Baguley Hall has, for a number of years, been mired in red-
tape and has been slowly deteriorating. This, after the extensive restoration work
carried out from 1971-82. In 1969 the then owners, Manchester City Council gave
Baguley Hall to the old Department of Works, this became the Department of the
Environment and the current responsibility (and ownership) of the hall rests with its
successor, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. English Heritage is the
managing agents and also the regulators for Historic listed buildings and scheduled
ancient monuments.

2. Above. Remember the corrugated iron coat that protected the Hall from 1971 -
82?
Since the renovations were completed in 1982 English Heritage has tried to find a
number of uses for The Hall-all to no avail. They've either proved not suitable or out of
keeping with Manchester City Council policy or there have been no takers when it was
put up for rental.
Until recently The City Council had a covenanted right of veto on any future plans for
the hall if it didn't agree with them. Since March 2012 they have given up this right.
A couple of years ago we came to the realisation that if it wasn't happening, then we
would at least have to try to make it happen. Conservative and Labour policy as regards
unused historic structures is to be as inclusive to Community involvement as is

3. practicable. In 2010 we contacted John Miller of Heritage Trust for the North West.
They have an excellent track record of restoring local landmarks and involving the
community in the future management and direction of the restored properties. HTNW
took the decision to try to purchase Baguley Hall. Hence;
Friends of Baguley Hall
Our marvellous old hall needs a like minded group of people to look after it. For 700
years it has looked out on us, it has been a stately manor house, a dowry gift from
Tatton’s to Leighs, and a farm house for the subsistence farmers of North East
Cheshire. It has been the centre for the ancient township of Baguley and seen the birth
of Barry Parker's design for the Garden City of Wythenshawe in the early 1930s and the
development of a world class International Airport just a stone's throw away.
The possibilities are limited only by our imaginations and our will to turn around and
improve our area and, subject to funding, could include the following facilities:
A Folk memory museum
Community Cornerstone
Conference and Event facilities
Gallery
Cafe and Bar
A Centre of Excellence providing education and training in the theory and practice of
Historic Asset Renewal
Office Space

4. Restoring Baguley Hall...Regenerating Baguley
We will seek to register Friends of Baguley Hall as a Development Trust and a
Registered Charity to operate as a not for profit community enterprise.
We believe that Baguley Hall can be become an Icon of regeneration for Baguley, it will
be a multi-use centre that will provide local employment. Baguley Hall deserves to be a
significant tourist attraction and is ideally situated to take full advantage of Manchester's
excellent and improving transport infrastructure being only yards away from a future
Metrolink station, 5 minutes from the UK Motorway hub and bus stops. Baguley is
situated 5 minutes drive from the new Airport City development - The master plan for
Manchester Airport's business and leisure enterprize zone rolls out over the next 15
years and Baguley can grow with it.
Now it’s time for us, the people of Baguley, of Wythenshawe and of Manchester and the
wider community of Heritage and History lovers to look after it.
Educational Block
We would like to utilise the spare land to the south of the hall to build an educational
facility that will specialise in training those who wish to gain experience and
qualifications in the theory and practice of historic building conservation. This is a
positive idea for our neighbourhood in that it will create jobs and will provide a
sustainable training facility in the crafts and building skills associated with Heritage
Conservation and provide cost neutral maintenance facilities for Baguley Hall.

5. Above. Baguley Hall in the 1790s
We need your help to formulate future plans for Baguley Hall and the 'Friends of' group
is our chance as a community to become fully involved with all aspects of the
restoration and management of one of Britain's most architecturally important buildings.
All are welcome. If you have a practical specialism you can bring to the project then
that's great but all you need initially is an enthusiasm for Baguley Hall and an interest in
restoration and conservation.
This is a long term project, it will be a long road ahead, The Hall is basically structurally
sound but without a sizeable programme of works this won't be the case for very much
longer. Substantial funds for immediate repair have been promised and we would hope

6. to apply for Heritage Lottery Funding when we have formulated a future schedule of
works. In addition we need to write a business plan for the future running of the hall.
We need to organise research to determine what are the best amenities for our
community and the number of visitors we can attract, what revenue streams from
imaginative uses of the hall and the effect of having a vibrant tourist attraction will have
on our local economy.
We need to do research into the economic viability of our ideas to achieve maximum
visitor numbers to provide the best outcome re job opportunities whilst weighing this
against the need to protect the fragile structure of our ancient hall.
Moreover, the Project offers the following opportunities should you chose to take them:
§ This is a fantastic opportunity to see the rebirth of a long dormant community
asset.
§ To have the satisfaction of seeing this project through from concept through to
realisation.
§ Increase your Knowledge Base in Restoration and Conservation.
§ Contribute to the future economic well-being of our local area.
§ Provide training in aspects of conservation, building work, ongoing data gathering
and maintenance of the hall.
§ See craftspeople using their specialist skills, these will include bricklayers,
masons, carpenters, joiners, lath and lime mortar specialists.
§ To organise an ongoing programme of wood conservation and specialist humidity
control for the Great Hall which is 700 years old.
§ Administration and management of a significant heritage asset.
§ A programme of educational visits to local schools.
§ Becoming a house guide - being conversant in the history of the hall, its context
in the local area. The history of Cheshire, Baguley, Wythenshawe and
Manchester

7. Contact Details
If you feel you would like to get involved contact us in one of the following ways;
Telephone:
07977 227022
Email:
friends.baguley.hall@gmail.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/friends.baguley.hall
Website:
www.friendsbaguleyhall.blog.com
We are also on Google+, Google Maps and Google Places