We have just completed the excavation of the remains of the mid 19th century Bleaklow Hall in Hawkshaw, Greater Manchester in June 2019.
Constructed by the Fletcher family around 1850 on the site of a farmhouse, Bleaklow Hall was described in the early 20th century as a ‘beautiful gabled house standing in its own grounds’. The 1893 OS Map shows the building as a single structure with a northern wing which had an associated small farm and agricultural outbuidings. The property was also flanked by a formal landscaped garden which would have been for the private use of the Fletcher family.
By the late 19th century the property was purchased by the Rigg family who had also purchased the adjacent Bleaklow Mill. The property changed little under the tenure of the Rigg family with only the addition of a glasshouse and a small outbuilding by the time of the 1929 OS Map. The property persisted in this layout until 1976 when the main hall was demolished, followed by the glasshouse prior to 1992 and the remaining outbuildings in the early 21st century.