Dunham Massey Hall, Lancashire, England

Picture right attributed to National Trust Images/ Nick Meers

Early History

The name Dunham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon dun, meaning hill. The Massey element of the name is a result of its ownership by the Massey family. The manor of Dunham is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having belonged to Aelfward, a Saxon thegn, before the Norman Conquest and to Hamo de Masci afterwards. The Barons de Masci also had control over the manors of Baguley, Bowdon, Hale, Partington, and Timperley. The suffix of "Massey" to the name Dunham reflects the manor's importance; Dunham was the seat of the Masseys. The importance of Dunham is further exemplified by the former existence of two de Massey castles: Dunham Castle and Watch Hill Castle on the border with Bowdon; a third, Ullerwood Castle, was near Hale. The Masseys remained lords of Dunham and its environs until the 14th century, when its male line became extinct.[5][6] The Booth family inherited most of the Massey family land in 1409, with Dunham Massey remaining at the heart of the estate.

By the Elizabeth period, Dunham Massey Castle had been demolished. Probably during the medieval period, Dunham Massey Hall became the home of the manorial lord, and a centre of power in the area. The hall was rebuilt in 1616, leaving no remains of the old medieval hall. A mill at Dunham was first documented in 1353, although the mill's present structure dates to the 1860s. It lies on the River Bollin, opposite Little Bollington. The first record of Dunham's deer park was also in 1353. The settlement at Dunham Woodhouse (named after an outlying lodge on the estate) dates from the 15th century. During the medieval period, the primary source of employment in Dunham Massey was agriculture, mainly arable farming.

Dunham Massey Hall

The present Hall was initially built in 1616 by Sir George Booth, who received one of the first baronetcies to be created by James I in 1611; it was later remodelled by John Norris for his descendant, George, 2nd Earl of Warrington between 1732 and 1740; it was further altered by John Hope towards the end of the 18th century and by Joseph Compton Hall between 1905 and 1908. The Hall itself, the stables, and the carriage house of Dunham Massey are all Grade I listed buildings, three of six such buildings in Trafford.[7]

The site is moated and lies immediately west of the village of Dunham, with the deer park to the south. The Hall was donated to the National Trust by Roger Grey, 10th and last Earl of Stamford, in 1976. The Hall was used as a military hospital during the First World War. Inside is a significant collection of Huguenot silver, the carving The Crucifixion by 17th-century wood carver Grinling Gibbons, and a white marble bust of the Emperor Hadrian; the head is antique, but the neck and shoulders are 18th-century; it was probably acquired by the George, Earl of Stamford and Warrington. The collection of paintings in the Hall include Allegory with Venus, Mars, Cupid and Time by Guercino; The Cascade at Terni by Louis Ducros; and portraits by William Beechey, Francis Cotes, Michael Dahl, A. R. Mengs, Sir Joshua Reynolds, George Romney, Enoch Seeman, and Zoffany. George Harry, Earl of Stamford and Warrington removed a selection of paintings to Enville Hall[8] in the late 1850s, and it was not until Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford succeeded as Earl, that some were rebought by the family after sales in 1929 and 1931.[9] The deer park at Dunham Massey is the only medieval park in Trafford or the surrounding area still surviving.[6] The hall and grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction, with nearly 200,000 visitors in 2010.