Louise Gray explores a 16th-century house where a young man transformed the textile industry
Where Hall i’ th’ Wood is in the middle of a Bolton housing estate that takes its name from the hall.
Historical documents refer to “an ancient building standing in the recesses of a forest”, though most of the woodland has long gone.
“But urbanisation has its benefits – the house is near a train station and well served by roads,” says Matthew Watson, its collections access officer.
What Hall i’ th’ Wood was built as a half-timbered hall in the 16th century and owned by wealthy yeomen and merchants. After 1697, it was rented out to a variety of tenants, some of whom moved in with their cattle.
It was during this period that a young Samuel Crompton lived in the hall with his parents. In 1779, he invented the spinning mule, which revolutionised the cotton industry by producing finer thread markedly faster than the then-existing methods.
In 1899, William Hesketh Lever – later Lord Leverhulme (of Sunlight Soap and Lever Brothers fame) – bought the hall, restored it and presented it to Bolton Corporation in 1902. The museum was opened as a memorial to Crompton and his contribution to Bolton and the textile industry.
Opened 1902.
Collection “Hall i’ th’ Wood celebrates the lives of two famous Boltonians – Crompton and Lever – and the collections reflect that,” Watson says. In the 1920s, with Lever’s blessing, Thomas Midgley, one of the museum’s curators, developed the hall as a folk museum that focused on domestic life in the 17th and 18th centuries, so the collections echo that too.
Highlights “The room where Crompton, then 26, invented and built the spinning mule in 1779,” says Watson. The museum holds other Crompton- related objects too, such as his tools and hand-spinning wheel. Watson says there are also “strange obsolete gadgets” such as a kettle tipper, a flummery whisk and a copper ale warmer.
Help at hand The museum is mainly run by staff. This year, it will trial a new volunteer role for events at Hall i’ th’ Wood and Smithills Hall, Bolton Library and Museum Services’ historic building in nearby Halliwell.
Budget Running costs are mainly met by Bolton Council, but there is a shop that generates some income. Entrance is free.
Sticky moment “None spring to mind, but the hall did feature in a recent series of Great British Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo,” Watson says. “He was given a tour of the attic rooms where Crompton hid his spinning mule during the machine-breaking riots of 1779. He also tried operating a spinning wheel.”
Survival tip “Make as many links as you can with the local community,” Watson says. “Tell schools about what you offer and involve local historians and community groups.”
Visitors By mid-December 2015, the museum had received 3,163 visitors over the past year. Watson says this figure should be higher once final calculations are done.
The hall opens on Tuesdays for educational visits and on Saturdays for events. Future plans “More work with local residents and schools,” says Watson. Manchester is the 2016 European City of Science, and the museum will have the opportunity to tell Crompton’s story at the Invention Stories event later this year.
www.boltonlams.co.uk
Where Hall i’ th’ Wood is in the middle of a Bolton housing estate that takes its name from the hall.
Historical documents refer to “an ancient building standing in the recesses of a forest”, though most of the woodland has long gone.
“But urbanisation has its benefits – the house is near a train station and well served by roads,” says Matthew Watson, its collections access officer.
What Hall i’ th’ Wood was built as a half-timbered hall in the 16th century and owned by wealthy yeomen and merchants. After 1697, it was rented out to a variety of tenants, some of whom moved in with their cattle.
It was during this period that a young Samuel Crompton lived in the hall with his parents. In 1779, he invented the spinning mule, which revolutionised the cotton industry by producing finer thread markedly faster than the then-existing methods.
In 1899, William Hesketh Lever – later Lord Leverhulme (of Sunlight Soap and Lever Brothers fame) – bought the hall, restored it and presented it to Bolton Corporation in 1902. The museum was opened as a memorial to Crompton and his contribution to Bolton and the textile industry.
Opened 1902.
Collection “Hall i’ th’ Wood celebrates the lives of two famous Boltonians – Crompton and Lever – and the collections reflect that,” Watson says. In the 1920s, with Lever’s blessing, Thomas Midgley, one of the museum’s curators, developed the hall as a folk museum that focused on domestic life in the 17th and 18th centuries, so the collections echo that too.
Highlights “The room where Crompton, then 26, invented and built the spinning mule in 1779,” says Watson. The museum holds other Crompton- related objects too, such as his tools and hand-spinning wheel. Watson says there are also “strange obsolete gadgets” such as a kettle tipper, a flummery whisk and a copper ale warmer.
Help at hand The museum is mainly run by staff. This year, it will trial a new volunteer role for events at Hall i’ th’ Wood and Smithills Hall, Bolton Library and Museum Services’ historic building in nearby Halliwell.
Budget Running costs are mainly met by Bolton Council, but there is a shop that generates some income. Entrance is free.
Sticky moment “None spring to mind, but the hall did feature in a recent series of Great British Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo,” Watson says. “He was given a tour of the attic rooms where Crompton hid his spinning mule during the machine-breaking riots of 1779. He also tried operating a spinning wheel.”
Survival tip “Make as many links as you can with the local community,” Watson says. “Tell schools about what you offer and involve local historians and community groups.”
Visitors By mid-December 2015, the museum had received 3,163 visitors over the past year. Watson says this figure should be higher once final calculations are done.
The hall opens on Tuesdays for educational visits and on Saturdays for events. Future plans “More work with local residents and schools,” says Watson. Manchester is the 2016 European City of Science, and the museum will have the opportunity to tell Crompton’s story at the Invention Stories event later this year.
www.boltonlams.co.uk