Friends of Heaton Hall

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Friends of Heaton Hall

The Friends of Heaton Hall exist to promote knowledge of this late 18th century neo-classical house. Sir Thomas was created Earl of Wilton in 1801.

Heaton Hall was first built on this site around 1685, but was rebuilt to its present design in the 1770s by Sir Thomas Egerton, 7th Baronet, with James Wyatt as architect. The Orangery was built on to the eastern end of the hall by his grandson, the 2nd Earl of Wilton.

25/09/2026

A lovely image of the ceiling of the Cupola Room, shared with us a couple of years ago by Sara Butterworth.

18/09/2026

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of Francis, 8th Earl Of Wilton at his home for many years in Melbourne, Australia. He was a great friend and supporter of 'The Friends'. He is succeeded as the 9th Earl Of Wilton by his son, Julian.

04/09/2026

Yesterday a coachload of members from The Friends Of Heaton Hall descended on Castle Howard, north east of York. Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton just two of the many things filmed there. Great house, great tour.

28/08/2026

HALL UPDATE

The completion date for the electrical works on the Hall has been put back to 8th October 2026.

Realistically this means our Open Days should commence again in April next year (our open days have always been paused over autumn and winter).

The work started later than expected at the end of last year due to additional Planning & Listed Building Consents being required. At this end stage another variation to the Listed Building Consent is needed regarding the removal of old switchgear and wiring. The Planning Department will also be periodically inspecting the Hall as final works progress. Whilst these delays are hard to take we do appreciate that their intentions and actions are driven by the commitment to assure that any impact on the Hall’s historic fabric is kept to an absolute minimum.
In our previous update on 27th June we also mentioned the work on the Orangery roof. This also has been impacted, with revised Listed Buildings Consent being sought on revised designs incorporating larger capacity rainwater goods, splitters and hoppers.

When we have further substantial news we will update you.

27/08/2026

The grand sailing event of Cowes Week was earlier this month.
Sailing was a major passion of the 2nd Earl Of Wilton and he had several yachts over his lifetime. But what he did 175 years ago is a little known story.
In 1851 a letter was written by the Earl of Wilton, who was then Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, to the Commodore of the New York Yacht Club, Mr John C Stevens.
Having heard that New York Yacht Club members were building a schooner to bring over to England for the summer, His Lordship extended an invitation to visit the Royal Yacht Squadron. Mr Stevens accepted the challenge of some friendly racing, although the Americans were quiet about the performance of their new yacht 'America'.
In May that year, the Royal Yacht Squadron put up a 100 guinea cup for a race around the Isle of Wight 'open to the yachts of all nations'. On 22 August 1851 the race was sailed clock-wise around the island.
'America' had been allowed to boom out her sails, and the race was sailed without handicap. The British fleet of yachts were comprehensively thrashed. 'America' came home 8 minutes ahead of the rest but had failed to round the Nab Rock Light, giving her a substantial advantage over the other yachts. The British yachts did not protest 'America's' short-cut.
One of the world's great sporting events had been born. Wilton is considered the true founder of the America's Cup competition. In memoirs of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Lord Wilton is described as a "nobleman of unfailing urbanity and a fine manner, a capacity for business, and a love of order and punctuality... a skilled musician, amateur surgeon, sportsman.’’

15/08/2026

Say hello to ''Kathleens Rose''. Initially bred in 1986 in Heaton Park by Gordon Kirkham who lived in Rose Cottage at the time. This one has been flowering its head off in the garden of our Chairman for the last couple of years. The flowers and beds of Heaton Park are credited by renowned best selling author and botanist Dr DG Hessayon as being an early inspiration to him. Sadly Heatons vast number of flower beds are long gone.

25/07/2026

An interesting card purchased off e-bay. Period writing on reverse confirms this to be Hut 39 St Margarets Camp on 27th May 1918 with Leonard Want stood up in the waistcoat next to the cross in the margin. The St Margarets Camp was previously home to the 16th Battalion The Manchester Regiment who trained there at the start of the war, He was in The Welsh Regiment and also The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, cannot really find much else on him. Heaton Park was a Convalescent Camp at this time so Leonard must have been wounded in some way. The reverse of the postcard also states ‘’then back off to France’’ so obviously fought on until the end of the war a few months later.

19/07/2026

Next September (nothing like a bit of advance notice) will be the Quasquicentennial Anniversary of Heaton Park. Officially opened on Wednesday 24th September 1902.

14/07/2026

News of the electrical work being done at the Hall has reached the prestigious Country Life magazine this week. The Hall has featured in the magazine in 1914, 1921 and latterly in 1992. At least with this small article they know we are still alive!

27/06/2026

UPDATE- So many News outlets jumping the gun over the last couple of days about the Hall re-opening. The electrical work in the hall should be finished and signed off by mid-August. The last part of the job is to remove all the boards that were put up to protect the Halls interior. There are no plans at present for the Friends to have an ‘Open Day’ this year. You might have seen workmen on the roof of The Orangery this week. The roof is undergoing extensive repairs and renewal. Once these are finished and the structure is watertight the Orangery itself will undergo extensive renovation and refurbishment. These works should start around the beginning of September and last until next Summer. Timelines may change as work progresses if ‘unexpected’ faults or problems arise. As the Hall and Orangery are Grade 1 Listed any change to the agreed schedule of works must go through the due process of getting permission and as important to try and find the extra money for the work. We are so looking forward to welcoming visitors back to the Hall on our Open Days, but don’t know as yet when exactly that may be.

Address

Heaton Park
Manchester
M252SW

Telephone

+441617739354

Website

http://www.heatonhall.wordpress.com/

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