Marple Hall Shutters return via cyber-space

....my partner has in her possession shutters from Marple Hall. We would like them to go to a caring home please contact by phone or email.

This short message, left in the Marple Website Guestbook on 18 March 2000 may not have meant much to most people, but to someone as interested in local history and Marple Hall in particular as myself, it was cause for great excitement. That contact had been made due to the large amount of information about the Hall displayed on the web site made it most rewarding. Accompanied by fellow enthusiast Peter Clarke, I made a hasty visit to see the shutters.

They were bought by a local builder in a sale following the Council's belated purchase of the historic hall in the late 1950's when, in their view, vandalism and neglect had rendered it fit only for demolition. It is not clear if the shutters were bought for a project that didn't come to fruition or if it was simply to prevent them from being lost forever. Whatever the intentions, they remained unused and gathered a thick layer of dirt and cobwebs for close on 50 years.

In March 2000, the daughter of the builder was in the final stages of moving from a large house to live on a canal narrowboat and had to be ruthless about disposal of unessential possessions. Fortunately she was aware of the historical significance of the shutters in her garden shed and rather than put them in a skip, posted the message hoping to find them a caring home. Fortunately we were able to convince her of our good intentions and returned with all four in our possession.

The problem now was how to fulfil our promises. The shutters were a filthy grey colour, covered in dirt, cobwebs, old varnish or paint and going rotten along the top and bottom edges. Despite their unattractive appearance we were encouraged after a visit from Marple Library representatives Jane Evans and Sylvia Davies, who agreed that the shutters could be displayed at the library once they were restored.

The shutters are an internal type and made from solid oak. Three of the four appeared to have splits the full height of the main central panel, although closer inspection revealed that these are actually two separate pieces of wood. Each shutter is fitted with large hand-made hinges fixed with hand-made nails. The shutters were probably fitted to the windows of a room in the Hall with matching oak panelled walls. Records show that there were at least two rooms at Marple Hall that matched this description. The first was Ante-Room, the second and possibly most likely, was the old Dining Room. Unfortunately there are no known photographs of either of these rooms, so we can only speculate. The age of the shutters is also uncertain, the hall would have been 350 years old now, but they could have been added many years after the original construction. It would be interesting if an expert were able to provide an opinion and maybe this will happen now that they are on display.

Several attempts were made to find a local company who would be prepared to help or advise on the restoration, including requests to local newspapers to feature an article on the shutters and letters to individual businesses. Disappointingly they did not respond to these enquiries. After resorting to library books and the internet for information, a minimalist approach to the restoration was followed.

The fronts of the shutters were first cleaned using medium grade wire wool to remove the ingrained dirt. This was followed by further cleaning using a solution of linseed oil and turpentine applied with fine wire wool. The colour was restored by applying two coats of linseed oil, each allowed to dry for 24 hours. Finally, a coat of Briwax polish was applied with fine grade wire wool and buffed with a bristle brush and soft cloth. The backs of the shutters, which are painted black, were cleaned using white spirit and then lightly oiled and polished. Protective wooden strips have been attached to the hinges to avoid injury to curious fingers on their sharp edges.

All cleaning and restoration work was carried out by myself and wife Gill over a period of five weekends and the results were better than we dared hope for. The quality of the old oak underneath all that dirt had remained intact. The brackets were made by Peter Clarke, who also helped with the fitting at the Library.

These shutters are some of the very few relics of Marple Hall that remain in the public domain. We are hoping that putting them on display may encourage other people who possess items of similar historical interest to make them available for display, or even just to be photographed and exhibited "virtually" on the web site. If you have anything that may be suitable please get in touch.

Marple Hall

The earliest date of building on the site of Marple Hall is uncertain but is believed to have been by the Vernons of Haddon Hall, during the reign of Henry VII. In 1606 the estate was brought by Henry Bradshawe of Derbyshire, together with "The Place" where he had been living at the time. This is now the site of the Texaco Garage on Stockport Road. Henry I as he became known, was the father of Henry Bradshawe II, who married Catherine Winnington of Offerton. They had two sons of note, Henry III and John Bradshawe, who went on to become Lord President of the High Court that sentenced King Charles I to death in 1649.

Henry Bradshawe III inherited the estates in 1654 and pulled down most of the original farm house in 1658, replacing it with the Marple Hall we know from pictures, or even distant memory today. Henry III was succeeded by Henry VI, who made considerable additions to the Hall, including the stables and other outbuildings in 1668. The clock tower was added by Henry V in 1685. Small additions were made by subsequent owners but not until John Bradshawe-Isherwood I inherited in 1801, was any significant modernisation work carried out.

The Hall passed down through many generations of the family, eventually passing to Henry Bradshaw-Isherwood in 1924. He only lived at the Hall for a short period before placing it in the hands of caretakers. In 1929 Henry sold most of the furniture and contents. On his death in 1940 the Hall passed to his nephew Christopher Isherwood. Christopher moved to America and relinquished his interests in the Hall to younger brother Richard.

The caretakers retired in 1953 and were not replaced. The gradual decline that occurred over the last 30 years was suddenly accelerated by vandalism and looting, causing a chimney to crash down through the centre of the building. The shutters were probably removed during this period. In 1954 a belated attempt was made by Richard Isherwood to sell it to the Council but they refused the offer. The council did eventually buy it in 1957 but by this time it was only fit for demolition. This was carried out in 1959 and the lintel stone bearing the date 1658 from the doorway was set as a memorial to the Hall. This remains today, looking uncannily like a gravestone.

On a visit to the site of the Hall in the sixties Christopher Isherwood is reported to have "felt no grimness or sadness" at seeing only grass where the house had stood, "only wonderfully joyful". It is unlikely that anyone with the least sense of history will be able to share, or understand these sentiments.