Venue Type & Location
Overview
Situated on low ground a few miles N of the River Mersey, close to the main road N to Preston.
Only a mid-15th c. red sandstone gateway survives in ruinous condition from the late medieval house of the Legh family. Part of the moat can still be seen.
A Georgian brick farmhouse now occupies part of the site of the original hall.
Performance History
Possible performance venue. Performance records from the family's years at Bradley do not survive but entertainers under Sir Peter Legh's patronage appeared elsewhere in Lancashire and Cheshire.
Current Status
History of the Venue
early 15th c. Sir Piers Legh II (d 1422) acquired Bradley via marriage to Joan, daughter of Sir Gilbert Haydock.
ca. 1465 Sir Piers Legh III improved the older manor house: 'At the time of his improvements, the manor contained 'an ancient camera called the knight's chamber' but Sir Piers added 'a new fair hall with three new chambers, a fair dining hall with a new kitchen, bakehouse, and brewhouse, a chapel, a new stone tower with small turrets, a fair gateway with a stone bastille...' (as cited in Emery, Greater Medieval Houses 1.195).
1597 Sir Peter Legh IX began rebuilding, though Bradley Hall ceased to be the principal residence of the Legh family when they relocated to Lyme Park. His son Piers Legh (ca. 1587--ca. 1624) lived at Bradley and did some repairs.
17th c. Abandoned as a family residence and used as a farm.
1740s Largely dismantled (Rothwell, Lyme Park 48).
Record Source
REED Lancashire 166--7
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Legh, Piers | 1514-1589 | Knight |
Bibliographic Sources
- Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996--2006
- George, David, ed. Lancashire. Toronto, Buffalo, London: U of Toronto P, 1991
- Newton, Lady [Evelyn Caroline (Bromley-Davenport) Legh]. The House of Lyme from its foundation to the end of the Eighteenth Century. London: William Heinemann, 1917
- Pevsner, Nikolaus. Lancashire: I. The Industrial and Commercial South. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1969
- Robinson, John Martin. A Guide to the Country Houses of the North West. London: Constable, 1991
- Rothwell, James. Lyme Park, Cheshire. 1998. London: The National Trust, 2000
- The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster. 8 vols. London: Archibald Constable, 1906--14