Tudor Old Hall

A guided tour around the Old Hall offers a unique opportunity to explore the fascinating history of Tatton Park, its owners and tenants.

Built as a manor house at the turn of the fifteenth century, the single storey great hall where you begin your tour, paints a hauntingly real image of early Tudor life. Dimly lit by tallow candles and a flickering fire, the dark corners of the hall harbour shadows of those distant times. Here you will discover its early owners, how they lived and the power they wielded.

It is not clear who originally built the Great Hall. Some say it was the powerful Stanley family who altered the course of history by putting Henry Tudor on the throne of England. Others say it was Sir Richard Brereton who allied himself to the Stanleys through marriage. Whoever built it has left an intriguing legacy to be experienced today.

But by 1598 a more comfortable two-storey wing had been added and Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Chancellor of England, now owned the estate. In those days the Hall had ceased being a manor house but was still the centre of a large working estate. Upstairs, this cross-wing shows changes in the style and fortunes of the building and its occupants as you enter rooms of the early 1600’s complete with servants’ and master’s bedchambers.

After the new hall was built on the site of the present mansion in the early 1700s, the Old Hall served as a farmhouse for a century until it was converted into three estate cottages.

The tour takes you downstairs again; this time entering one of these cottages set out as a Victorian gamekeeper’s home. The tour ends in rooms that nostalgically recreate an estate worker’s cottage from 1958, the year that the last Lord Egerton died.

Tours take place on the following dates on the hour between 12pm and 4pm. Adult £4.50, Children £2.50, Family £11.50. Prices for some historical re-enactment events may vary.

Opening Days 2010

Thursday 1st April
Thursday 8th April
Thursday 20th May
Thursday 3rd June
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th June - Medieval Fayre Weekend
Thursday 29th July
Thursday 5th August
Thursday 12th August
Sunday 15th August - Viking Sunday
Thursday 19th August
Thursday 26th August
Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th September - American Civil War Weekend
Tuesday 26th to Sunday 31st October - Hallowe'en Hauntings


Further information about family learning activities at the Old Hall, including Beginner's Longbow call 01625 374428.