The original roof with cusped, slanting queen-posts is mostly hidden by an 18th c. ceiling, but the trusses are still visible.

The half-timbered ceiling of the bay is flat.

The heraldic shield on this roof boss represents the arms of the Hesketh of Rufford family.

A carving of the devotional image of the 5 wounds of Christ is carved in the spandrel of the 2nd bay roof brace on the N side of the hall facing the high end.

Each of the 8 angels originally had wings, but all but one succumbed to woodworm or other deterioration by the 19th c. Their shields probably had painted coats of arms.

The original roof is richly decorated. There are 5 equal bays created by 4 hammerbeam trusses. The hammerbeams rest upon curved braces, each carved in a different pattern, with angels at either end overlooking the hall. The 8 angels may have been retrieved from a Lancashire monastery after the Dissolution; 2 differ in style from the rest and may have had a separate origin.

Curved braces rise from the hammerbeams to battlemented collarbeams, each with a heraldic wooden boss. From low to high end, the bosses represent the arms of the Hesketh of Rufford family; early 16th c. coat of arms with 4 quarters for branches of the family; the Stanley family crest (eagle and child), for the Heskeths' patrons; and the royal Tudor rose.

The wagon roof is now renewed in plaster but some original carved wooden bosses remain. The Clothworkers' aisle (shown here) is embellished with angels at the springing of the wooden ribs of the rectangular sections of the roof.

The low ceiling with a 15th c. moulded central beam is visible in the photograph of the high end.

Wooden cross-beams supported by curved brackets divide the 5 bays.

Used by kind permission of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.