FRIENDS OF GORSE HALL
USING THE PAST TO PROMOTE THE FUTURE

Gorse Hall is situated on a hill overlooking Stalybridge and bordering Dukinfield covering approximately 35 acres of woodland and meadow, with panoramic views over to the Cheshire Plains and the Pennines.

The site was once a part of the Dockenfeld Manor held by Lieutenant– Colonel Robert Duckenfield, well known in the Civic War. The Manor was never sold but passed on through generations. “Old Gorse Hall” can be traced back to the 17th century although it probably goes back much before this. Remains of the “Old Gorse Hall” can still be seen.

On the death of Lady Dukinfield–Daniel the estate passed on to her husband John Astley, a famous portrait painter of that era. Francis Dukinfield Astley, a great sportsman, built Hunters Tower on Gorse Hall in 1807, and was involved in the formation of the Astley Riflemen Volunteers; the rifle range wall can still be seen today near to the site of the Tower.

The Towns of Stalybridge and Dukinfield were typical cotton mill towns in the 18th and 19th century. John Leech one of the many wealthy cotton manufacturers of the district, bought land from Mr. Astley to build his mills. His son John bought the Gorse Hall estate and with stone from the local quarries built a “New” Gorse Hall mansion in 1835/6. He laid out formal gardens, an orchard and a bowling green, now used as an open classroom.

John and Jane Leech had eight children, one being Helen born at Gorse Hall, she was later to become the mother of Beatrix Potter famous children’s author. A Blue Plaque can be seen at the main entrance on High St. Stalybridge.

After Jane’s death, William Storrs bought the mansion and gave it to his son George Harry and his wife as a wedding present. On the night of 1st November 1909 George Harry was brutally murdered by an intruder at the Hall, he was stabbed 15 times.Two people were tried and acquitted; his widow had the house taken down in 1910 and moved away never to return. Through a Heritage Lottery Grant the site of this tragedy was opened up and the remaining foundation walls consolidated with support from the UMAU and the Friends of Gorse Hall volunteers.

On the 12th November 1909 George Harry’s coachman was found hanged in the stables of the hall, perhaps he felt guilty for not being there when his master was murdered, the mystery still remains, but Julian Fellowes has produced a drama recently, about what may have happened on that dreadful night for the BBC.

The stables area has been excavated by 2,500 local school children over the last five years, a project that has been very successful in giving the children ownership of their heritage. The site is now managed by the Friends of Gorse Hall, who have a lease on the land, which is owned by TMBC. The aim of the “Friends” is to promote the site for leisure, educational and historical use.

FRIENDS OF GORSE HALL

The work we do is supported by TMBC, other Agencies/groups, businesses and funders.

The Friends have regular workdays for volunteers on site on a Tuesday and sometimes at weekends, to do conservation work/projects.
We have several walks each year, and go out to other groups/church’s to give talks on the work that we do.
We promote our work by showing exhibitions/presentations.
A project involving local school children in real Archaeology has been very successful over the last five years.
Local schools use the site for conservation and local history Projects.
We conduct regular surveys of the wildlife, flora and fauna on the site.
There is an Orienteering Course on site, and we plan to have a “Trim Trail” in the very near future.
We are constantly researching the long and varied history of the estate.

The group is a member of the Tameside Local History Forum of which there are 30 Local and Family history/Civic Societies.

Forthcoming Events 2008

April 27th

Tulip Sunday, This community event is held in Stamford Park, where various voluntary groups have stalls promoting their organisation.

April 29th

Thirty volunteers will be helping to build part of the boundary wall.

GHOST WALK

May 8th

Meet at the main entrance to Gorse Hall (Grosvenor St) at 7.30 pm. Learn about the various stories of ghost sightings on the site. Strong footwear and outdoor clothing is advisable.

May 19th /23rd

DIG FOR HISTORY

The group will be holding the annual “Dig for history” event where Tameside primary schools book a morning or afternoon session. The children learn about archeology from the Manchester University Archeological unit, carry out resistivity meter readings and learn how people used to live on Gorse

MURDER WALK

June 5th

Meet at Stalybridge bus station on Waterloo Rd at 7.30pm. This annual event will take you through the history and events that led up to the murder of George Harry Storrs at Gorse Hall on November 1st 1909. Previous walks have been attended by over 100 people. Strong footwear and outdoor clothing is advisable.

June 10th,

Twenty five volunteers from Addleshaw Goddard are again helping to rebuild the boundary wall. This will be the 3rd visit by this company and we are really greatfull for all their efforts.

June 16th /20th

The second week of ”Dig for History”

Around thirty children attend each morning or afternoon to learn about archaeology

KING COTTON WALK

June 26th

King Cotton is a relatively new walk around Stalybridge giving you an insight of various cotton mill sites and a brief history of the mill owners around the late 1800s and early 1900s. John Leech, the owner of Gorse hall, being one of the famous four, who helped the economic revolution of Stalybridge. Meet at the main entrance to the site, Grosvenor St at 7.30pm Strong footwear and outdoor clothing is advisable.

July 11th.

Children from schools that have attended the “ Dig for History” event. Meet at Portland Basin Museum to give a presentation about heir experience of the day. This could be a short play or sketch, a poem, a song or whatever they decide as their experience of the day. The displays are left on show in the museum for about a month to enable members of the public to view their work.

18th July

Graham Brown (Group Member) will take children from Broadbent Primary School and their parents on a walk around the site.

EVERY THURSDAY

Volunteers needed

The Groups work team, carry out maintenance and conservation projects on the site, Meeting at 10am anybody can help with these project. Do as much or as little as you wish, it is a good way to find out about the site and chat with the rest of the team. Contact Alan 0161030409022 or Bernard 0161 338 6337

FRIENDS OF GORSE HALL USING THE PAST TO PROMOTE THE FUTURE