This photograph shows it’s all over. No fighting back, it’s the time of the end.
Hough Hall, Moston, is going going gone.
Its fate was sealed at the end of last year when it was sold at auction for a measly £165,000.
And very soon 500 years of the history our little suburb three miles from the City of Tall Towers – the industrial metropolis of revolution – will be replaced by 12 houses and six apartments.
What a sad day it was when Alan Hampson, who writes for the excellent local internet magazine Another Music, took this photograph. Thank you for sharing it Alan.
What a travesty.
The Tudor mini-mansion is smashed and broken, its windows stare with black emptiness, its buttresses are twisted and the spine of the roof is breaking and exposed. Hough Hall is falling to the undignified throws of its cold harsh death as Spring arrives.
But once again there is a mystery?
Why is the council taking at least part of the hall down?
Why isn’t the builder doing it?
The note pinned to the old oak door says baldly that the city council has not contacted the owner and is going ahead with the – at least – partial demolition because an area of the hall had become dangerous.
Surely, it was potentially dangerous before a few days ago? After all our diminished piece of history has been horribly neglected for all the decades of my life.
If you were brought up in Moston, Hough Hall has been a sentinel of history for you. It was, as far back as I remember, the dirty rugged enigmatic, roughly romantic, mysterious inspiration that began me thinking of, and respecting, the things of the past, how history shaped us, how we lived and how architecture fitted in with us and protected us.
***
Everyone you know someday will die. And places and buildings almost always go on far beyond us. Hough Hall didn’t make it.
But there are so many stunning and evocative buildings in Moston that we need to do everything we can to protect, save them from the ravages of time, weather, business and those who have dominion over us and what is ours.
Let’s fight to keep those things that are part of what made us who we are today…
Nice write and very right…hate things like this, no pride in our heritage…just back-handers for the councillors! They should be ashamed of themselves for letting it get into the state it did
Would’ve been a great educational point for the children in the area 🙄
This very old building could easily have been an attraction for this forgotten area. I remember living in a council house in Clough Rd & when they came to ” modernize then the council said we new nothing about these houses. Forgotten or missplaced. That sums up what the council think of Moston.
Justin TheBear Ransted
Does anyone know what is happening with this building it seems all works have stopped when i pick my dauther up from school she calls it the spooky house and tells me i should call the house police to take it away
Joe Hartley
Sad, but you can’t hold onto history forever. It’s dangerous and not maintained by the owner (not the council) so unfortunately needs to come down.
Leigh G Banks
Author
Joe Hartley you are right but history should not be neglected in this way … we make it clear that numerous owners over the last eight decades have neglected and abused the building and it was in fact us who tracked down the Bernards less than two years ago. Hough Hall wasn’t a major listed building but the council could have done more to help save it as could have many other authorities charged with that task. The simple fact is neither the owners nor the authorities cared enough about this monument to Moston’s history and it is now lost…
Joe Hartley
Leigh G Banks It is lost, that’s true, which is why we shouldn’t contimue to lament over it.
There were decades suring which to petition and campaign and rally, but alas… that time is gone.
Time to look forward. 😊
Leigh G Banks
Author
Joe Hartley We’ve battled for it for two years and the story above – as a number of others have – are asking that we fight for the many other beautiful edifices that could be under threat in the future … we need to protect what is ours… i believe that is looking forward …
Patty Bouvier
Absolutely disgusting it was left to rot. Can only think the council didn’t think it was worth keeping because of where it is. Probably be very different if in other areas. Very sad
Irene Hannon
They did the same to the Co op building on Oldham road. Just let it rot until they could do no more than pull it down. Starting with the roof. Letting it be a home for Rats & Pigeons. Supposed to be a listed building. Then was going to be apartments. They run out of money. RUBBISH 😱😱😱
Muriel O’Hare
Very sad news my childhood memories gone, I walked past Hough Hall everyday going to school.
The council getting involved when they know they can charge for safety works knowing the new developer has funding. Money grabbing B’s