HOUGH HALL … AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF MOSTON

We received this impassioned plea from a Mostonian this morning … although the day is coming to an end for the beautiful edifice at the heart of Moston… people still want to fight for it… and there still may be time.

This is what the latest message said: “My heart cries every time i pass this once magnificent hall. It’s beyond belief that MCC or English Heritage have not raised a voice to save this 500 year old hall. The value of this piece of history isn’t about money, it is far more valuable than that. What this place has to offer for generations to come is priceless. Unless the Council act it seems that know matter how important this building is it will only be worth whatever a pile of rubble cost. IT MUST BE SAVED.”

THIS ARTICLE IS FROM THE ARCHIVES – but we at the preservation society think it is still relevant because of the renewed interest created by Urban Collective … the info contained in the article is still useful … We are happy to find out what can be done to save Hough Hall – help us! Share this article!

There is definitely something that can be done to save Hough Hall, the Marie Celeste building of Moston. And the first person who should have cared about this ancient building is of course the man who owned it.

Certainly, when he and his partner  Heather Mawhinney, less than 20 years ago,  bought the historic pile, which stands just off Moston Lane, next to a Victorian primary school, they must have known at least a little of what they was letting themselves in for.

And when they put a £200,000 price tag on it a couple of years later they would have been aware that if it didn’t sell or it wasn’t restored – or even repaired – this small piece of England was being condemned to a slow and shameful fall from the pages of history.

Now there, of course, could have been a hundred and one reasons for Roger Barnard’s lack of action.

We have also heard many suggestions of what might have gone on in the rigours of  his life, which we won’t highlight here.

And what we do know is that owning a Grade 11 listed building can become like a dead albatross round your neck.

The sad truth is however, that owners of listed buildings in the UK are under no statutory obligation to maintain their property in a good state of repair. They can quite literally let it fall down and the land it stands on can become a lucrative plot for building.

We are not suggesting for a minute that this is – or ever has been – the plan for Hough Hall.

The responsibility for the future of this beautiful and evocative 17th century farmhouse – one of the only remnants of the rural history of this North Manchester suburb – also lies with two organisations who should right now hang their heads in shame.

The first one is of course Manchester City Council … you see, despite what they say,  local authorities can take action to ‘secure repair when it becomes evident that a building is being allowed to deteriorate’.

But MCC nailed their colours to the mast when they told the preservation society’s chief researcher Andrea Martin-Banks there was nothing they would do to protect the near-derelict hall.

History in a hole.

The next port of call then is Historic England.

They say on their website: “Historic England have produced guidance to help owners and purchasers of vacant buildings to reduce risks by undertaking an ‘active management approach’ that can prevent unnecessary damage, dereliction and loss of historic fabric.”

But when approached by Andrea, Historic England simply referred her back to Manchester City Council.

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So, the only hope Hough Hall has of surviving into its next century on this earth is you, the people of Moston.

This is what some of you have had to say in the last couple of weeks …

These are some of the comments made after this story was originally published last year:

Callum Andrews This marvellous pressure group, which I’m backing, already has the ball rolling. Maybe you could ask Joyce Lightfoot to speak with Leigh also. I support Leigh and back him 110% on behalf of my group, if he needs me to do anything I’ll do my best. He needs more people from Moston to back him so we have a bigger voice.

North City Community Action Group Leigh how about getting a public meeting together so a focus group can be created to take this forward

Lorna Hardaker Very sad. Too many historical buildings are lost due to sheer neglect. An intervention is required.

Joseph Mysko I would love for this building to be restored absolute travesty to see it in such a state!!!!! Looks like the history is as forgotten about as much as the residents that currently live in the area. I see so many beautiful pictures of how moston was on here it’s just incredibly sad  

 Jennifer Clarke I have read and left comments.
I hope the council don’t procrastinate so long that they deem it unsafe and pull it down like what happened to some other places.

 Damian Witherington Leigh I’m led to believe you are the driving force behind the campaign to save Hough Hall, is this correct? or are you just raising the awareness of the plight of this building?

There have literally been thousands of likes and comments on Facebook and other platforms since we first published this story – but not too much action.

The people to contact at Manchester City Council and Historic Britain are:

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council T

Telephone: 0161 234 3004

Email: [email protected]

Duncan Wilson OBE is the chief executive of Historic England

Telephone: 020 7973 3250

Email: @english-heritage.org.uk

Don’t let this fight end here. Disinterest is the wrecking ball which destroys hundreds of listed buildings across the UK every year but there are Urgent Works Notices, Repairs Notices and Section 215 Notices. Make the people who are in charge of our history use them.

These are just some of the buildings which at some stage have become awful ghosts of themselves, Victoria Mill, Grimsby, Old Bute Road Railway Station, Cardiff, Old Library, Stafford, Mount Street Hospital, Preston, St Paul’s Church, Boughton, Chester.

But the list is endless.

The preservation society has to move on now but we are more than willing to advise and help anybody who wants to fight to save Hough Hall – we will also publicise everything you do. Contact us through the site or on messenger.

Fight for YOUR history.

Leigh G Banks