Archives

Holds one minute book relating to Worsley Hall Hospital:

East Lancashire Branch General Purposes Committee Minute Book, 6 October 1914 -13 June 1918

These minutes provide information about the running and maintenance of the Hospital; patient admissions and discharges; illnesses and deaths; staffing and finance accounts. The minutes also include lists of voluntary officials and their positions; rules and meal times.

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The Department of Manuscripts and Archives holds papers and letters relating to the architect Edward Blore and the building of the New Hall:

Abstracts from clerks of work’s returns regarding building work at various sites 1841-1848. Details for Worsley Hall can be found on pp. 1; 26; 46; 60; 74. The volume also provides information on the parsonage and infants school in Worsley; Walkden Moor School and the Bridgewater Trust Offices. MS Add 3951

Private Accounts 1826-1850. Details expenses for travelling to and from Worsley to inspect the works and to draw up plans for the lodge houses. MS Add. 3955

Private Accounts 1826-1841. Includes expenses for travelling to and from Worsley to inspect the works and drawing up plans for lodges houses. MS Add. 3956

Letter to Edward Blore from Lord Francis, Earl of Ellesmere 22 December 1859. Regarding the new drawings of the addition to Worsley Hall received by Lady Ellesmere and whether any of the suggestions made in a previous letter met Blore’s approbation. MS Add 8170/39

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Ernest Bosdin Leech R.A.M.C, War Diary, Letters and Notes: Book 1

Contains photographs and correspondence relating to Worsley Hall Hospital. Leech was a consulting Physician at the MRI and was also President of the Manchester Medical Society. He volunteered as a medical officer at Worsley Hospital in 1914 until February 1915.

Mullineux Photographic Archive

Includes images relating to the New Hall. Various dates.

E LIV Bridgewater Canal, Worsley: Brick Hall; Royal barge and boathouse; Queen Victoria’s Landing Stage.

E LXIX Egerton Family Earls of Ellesmere: Royal barge; Countess of Ellesmere Lord and Lady Normanby; 2nd Earl of Ellesmere, Lord and Lady Brackley.

E LXX Worsley People: Mr Upjohn, Lord Ellesmere’s gardener.

E LXXI Worsley Pageant.

E LXXII Worsley Monument and gatehouses: West Lodge; Church (North) Lodge; New Hall entrance gates.

E LXXVIII Worsley Miscellaneous: Leigh Road and Worsley New Hall.

E LXXV Worsley Brick Hall and Worsley New Hall, c. 1900-1968: views of the New Hall from the South, North East and West; lake; bridge to the island in the lake; demolition of the New Hall; fountain; ice house; driveway; New Hall Gardens; New Hall gate house; head gardener's house; old and new Bothy; boiler house; steam boiler.

E LXVIII Royal Visits to Worsley, c. 1909: Queen Victoria's landing stage; King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at Worsley Hall.

Digital copies also available at Salford Local History Library

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Holds some of Lord Francis Egerton's correspondence, mainly regarding Chartism, but with references to Worsley; a photocopy of a large scale ‘Plan of the Estates in 1840’; papers relating to Queen Victoria’s visit in 1851 and letters from Thomas Hope Floyd, who was a patient at Worsley Hall Hospital in 1917.

Lord Francis Egerton's Correspondence:

Lady Harriet Egerton to James Lock c. 1839 regarding Hatchford and Lord Francis’ illness. Lady Harriet expresses regret that they will not be able to spend the summer at Worsley and gives other family news. DP/378/3

Lord Francis Egerton of Worsley to James Lock of London 3 May 1839 regarding Chartist agitation in Manchester. Egerton asks, 'would it be possible to take any precautions for placing the books and other documents at the Worsley Office for security, I care little about the house.’ DP/378/4

Lord Francis Egerton of Worsley to James Lock of London 18 August 1839 refers to the levelling in of an unidentified greenhouse. DP/378/10

Lord Francis Egerton of Worsley to James Lock of London 22 August 1839 regarding his visit to the Pemberton property and his service on the Grand Jury. Lord Francis also refers to work on the greenhouse and plantings and a suicide, but does not give specific details. DP/378/11

Lord Francis Egerton of Worsley to James Lock of London 29 August 1839 regarding to the purchase of arms against future Chartist riots and refers to Edward Blore’s 'admirable plans'. DP/378/12

Papers relating to the Queen’s visit to Worsley 1851. This bundle includes a tracing paper map showing the canal through Worsley and number points; lists of person’s requiring tickets and of special constables appointed, with correspondence. NCBw/19/5

Hospital, Worsley Hall and Eaton Hall, and Yorkshire 5th Regiment of the Lancashire Fusiliers

Letters dated 3, 6, 11, 12 August 1917 written by Thomas Hope Floyd to his parents from Worsley Hall Hospital. Floyd was a patient at the Hospital following the 3rd Battle of Ypres. His letters include an account of the battle and his arrival at Worsley Hall ‘the splendid mansion of the Egertons of Ellesmere’. View extracts from one of Floyd's letters. DDFL/3/6

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Holds some correspondences with Lord Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere but not directly relating to the New Hall:

Egerton Ellesmere, Worsley, Manchester to Rev Alfred J Tomlin of St Michaels Church, Liverpool 20 September 1851 regarding societies for the provision of additional curates. 920 TOM/512/1

Lord Francis, Earl of Ellesmere to Lord Derby. 5 letters dating from 1845 to 1852 regarding the country’s defence against foreign aggression; Lord Brackley and the tomb of the Duke of Wellington. 920 DER (14) 140/4/1-5

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Collections include:

St Mark's Church, Worsley (L118) built by Sir Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere between 1844 and 1846, around the same time as the New Hall. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878) and contains the tomb of the 1st Earl. The collection includes Baptism registers, Marriage registers, Church Magazines, Churchwarden and Vestry records dating from 1846-1972.

The Royal Manchester Institution (M6) collection contains various correspondence with Sir Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere regarding the loan of items from his collection for various exhibitions. View a detailed list of records

C. W. Provis and Sons., of Manchester, auctioneers and valuers (M106) contains two boxes 25-26 of annotated sales particulars and correspondence relating to the Earl of Ellesmere’s estates, dating 1914-1921. C. W. Provis were responsible for the auction of furniture and books from Worsley New Hall. However, this collection does not contain items relating to the New Hall.

The Local Studies Collection also holds some newspaper cuttings relating to the New Hall from the Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener. See the Green Box Newspaper Cuttings Collection: A-Z Halls, Box 92

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Holds correspondence of Sir Francis Egerton, 1st earl of Ellesmere from 1837 to 1856 as part of the Ellesmere (Brackley) Collection, E(B). The Brackley Estate in Northamptonshire was granted to the Egerton family in the 16th century, and Sir Francis inherited it along with the Lancashire and Cheshire estates of the Duke of Bridgewater in 1833. Sir Francis was granted the subsidiary title of Viscount Blackley at the same time that he was elevated to the Peerage and Earl of Ellesmere in 1846.

The Ellesmere (Brackley) Collection contains some records relating to Worsley and the Bridgewater Canal, but the bulk of the material is dated before the 19th century and there are no records relating directly to the New Hall itself.

However, the collection does contain bundles of Lord Francis’s correspondence written during the period when the New Hall was being designed and built:

E(B) 1496 Letters regarding the administration and management of the Bridgewater estates. Includes E(B) 1496/19 from James Sothern to Lord Francis stating when he intends to leave Worsley Hall (in this case the Brick Hall).

E(B) 1497, 1498 and 1500 are bundles of correspondence from churches, charities, literary institutions and schools and begging letters from individuals.

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The Collections contain over 400 of Edward Blore’s plans for Worsley New Hall along with his Account Books.

Working drawings for Worsley Hall, Lancashire, as well as Parsonage House, Schools and Cottages, and "Bridgewater Trust Offices", by Edward Blore ca. 1840-1846

Vol. 26 and Vol. 35 contain over 400 drawings. You can view the complete list here.

Building Accounts kept by Edward Blore, 1839-1846

BlE/1/1 and BlE/2/2 contain detailed accounts of expenditure for the building of Worlsey Hall.

BlE/3 'Abstract for the receipts and expenditure by Mr Blore on account of Worsley New Hall in the years 1840 and 1841'. Dated June 1842.

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Holds 2 correspondences relating to the New Hall:

Letter from Queen Victoria to Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland refers to Queen Victoria’s visit to Worsley in 1851, Lord Ellesmere’s character and Lord Brackley’s health. VIC/ADD A24/303

Letter from Lord Escher to Sir Francis Knollys regarding the 1909 Review at Worsley and the ‘“military spirit” of the nation’. VIC/MAIN/W141/93

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BW Bridgewater Estates Collection. These papers are part of the estate records of the Lancashire and Cheshire Estates of the Duke of Bridgewater, Earls of Ellesmere and Bridgewater Estates Ltd from the 1720s to the 1980s.

The full catalogue is available on Access to Archives (A2A). The items listed here relate directly to Worsley New Hall:

Minute Books of decision minutes from Directors Meetings (1923-1975) contain references to the New Hall and its demolition; tenancies ofvthe Bothy, Worsley New Hall Gardens and lodges; damage by mining operations; Worsley New Hall Stables; lease by the Boys Scout Association and plans for a new hotel. BW/A/1/2-10

Staff Lists (1900-1920), relate to staff employed on the Earl of Ellesmere’s Lancashire and Cheshire Estates and Collieries and include the roles of head gardener, house carpenter and head gamekeeper at Worsley Hall. BW/A/5/1-16

Records relating to the buying and selling of property. Notes on The Wardley and Worsley Estate undated [1908?] refers an agreement 21 February 1861 with the London and North Western Railway Company regarding supply of water to Worsley Hall from Blackleach and other reservoirs. BW/A/7/1/13

Register containing details of sale of land, hereditaments etc. 20th cent. Contains information regarding the sale of land in Worsley New Hall grounds to the War Department 1956. BW/A/7/2/51

Papers relating to the valuation of Worsley Hall (1920-1921). 2 bundles of detailed handwritten and typed notes surveying the contents of the building. Includes details regarding materials and fittings; servant’s quarters; roof timber; slating; structural valuation; and a room-by-room inventory of the Hall interior. BW/A/7/3/19

Household records consists of six items containing inventories of the furniture, goods and linen in Worsley Hall (1796-1823). These items relate to the Brick Hall. BW/A/11/1-5

The Mullineux Collection U332 contains ephemera, newspaper cuttings and other records relating to the New Hall, collected by local historians Frank and Elsie Mullineux.

View selected items from the collection:

U332/Z237 Invitation from the Earl of Ellesmere and his wife to Mr and Mrs Westbrook, 12 Walkden Road, Walkden, for an outdoor fete at the Hall, 28 August 1886

U332/Z276 C. W. Provis and Sons Auctioneers catalogue Worsley New Hall, Worsley, ‘Catalogue of the remaining portion of the contents’, April 1921.

U332/Z715 Cover sheet of ‘The Ellesmere Polka’, composed by Heinrich Blumer for Queen Victoria’s visit 1851.

U332/Z742 Souvenir pamphlet for King Edward VII’s Review at Worsley 1909.

U332\Z795-99 The Worsley Wail (Being the Unofficial Chronicle of the Worsley Red Cross Hospital, Lancashire), vol. 1-4, September-October 1916. Visit Resources to view PDFs of all 4 issues.

U332\M64 Printed plan, prepared in connection with Queen Victoria’s visit, showing the Bridgewater Canal from Patricroft to Worsley, 1851. Sheet 3 shows the location of the landing stage in relation to the New Hall and Bridgewater Hotel.

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Holds the Records of the Sutherland-Leveson-Gower family, Dukes of Sutherland, Earls Gower, etc. (the Sutherland Papers), including other records of the Trentham Estate. Lord Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere was the second son of George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland.

Records relating to Worsley New Hall are:

Yearly statements of receipts and payments made on account of the Duke of Sutherland by Drummonds and Childs, 1834-1842. Provides details for living expenditure for Sir Francis Egerton's house at Worsley, either the Old or Brick Hall. It also details the expenses paid to Edward Blore for work on the New Hall from 1839-1842. D593/N/1/2/1/3

A small number of Letters from Francis, 1st Earl of Ellesmere to his brother George, 2nd Duke of Sutherland refer directly to Worsley New Hall:

Worsley, 15 June 1845 Regarding Lord Francis’s establishment in the new house at Worsley, comments on the interior workmanship, the servant’s bells, windows and armorial bearings on the exterior. Notes that ‘there are divers faults of interior from which the next house I build in the country will be exempt, but they are in general as much mine as of the architect.’ D593/P/22/1/5

Worsley, 25 December 1845 Sir Francis suggests to his brother than he should ‘drop into’ the New Hall on his way south. He mentions that ‘the terraces and kitchen gardens, however wet the country at large, afford a dry quarter deck to walk out. The house is warm and coals cheap. Trentham and Lilleshall at a stone’s throw. Ask the Duke of Devonshire if it is not all fine. He has taken to the place mightily.’

February 1850 Mentions that the half the chimneys have been blown down during the recent gales.

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BEA Bridgewater Estates Archive contains a large collection of correspondence relating to the administration of Bridgewater Estates in the late 19th and 20th century. Information and records relating to the New Hall can be found within the following themes:

Worsley New Hall Correspondence dating from 1898 to 1959 regarding applications to visit the New Hall grounds and gardens; requests for flowers, Christmas trees and evergreens from the New Hall Gardens; instillation and maintenance of electric lighting and lift; billiards equipment; art collection; inspection, sale and removal of furniture; maintenance and repairs to the Hall, grounds, gates, lodges and garden buildings; drainage and water supply from Blackleach reservoir; fetes and garden parties; Worsley Hall Hospital; trespassers and the theft of garden produce; tenancies of the lodges and Market Gardens, Bothy and Garden Cottage; garden and nursery staff; 2/8th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers; 42nd and 45th Battalion of the Home Guard; bridge over Leigh Road; fire at Worsley New Hall and Fire Loss Claim; sale and demolition of the Hall; requisitioning of land and property by the War Office and compensation claims; Middlewood as a Scout camp; Reinforced Concrete Building (bunker).

These records can be found in:

• BEA/I/1228
• BEA/I/1594
• BEA/II/A112
• BEA/IV/C20

Employment Correspondence dating from 1904-1911 regarding employment: Thomas Mitchell, former gardener; vacancy for the ‘deaf and dumb’ boy Hodgkinson in the gardens; John Bradshaw and Mary Bowley of Worsley Hall; Albert Green, gardener; Robert, 2nd Keeper at Worsley Hall; Gerald Askew foreman at the New Hall Gardens and W. B. Upjohn, head gardener. BEA/I/7

Situations and testimonials Correspondence dating from 1912-1913 and 1817-1918 regarding the employment of Gerald D Askew, foreman at Worsley Hall Gardens; Mary S Jones Dairymaid at Worsley Hall; Hilda Martin vacancy at Worsley Hall as gardener. BEA/II/A7

Insurance and Investments – Lord Ellesmere’s Property Correspondence regarding the insurance policy for Worsley Hall, including a valuation of furniture. BEA/II/A130

The full catalogue is available on the University of Salford Archive and Special Collections web pages.

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