Astley Hall is a country house in Chorley, Lancashire, England. Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed here for a time. The extensive landscaped grounds are now Chorley's Astley Park.
The site was acquired in the 15th century by the Charnock family from the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and they built the original timber-framed house around a small courtyard c.1575-1600. In 1665, Margaret Charnocke married Richard Brooke of Mere in Cheshire, ...
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Astley Hall is a country house in Chorley, Lancashire, England. Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed here for a time. The extensive landscaped grounds are now Chorley's Astley Park.
The site was acquired in the 15th century by the Charnock family from the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and they built the original timber-framed house around a small courtyard c.1575-1600. In 1665, Margaret Charnocke married Richard Brooke of Mere in Cheshire, and they built the present grand but asymmetrical front range of brick with a pair of vast mullion and transomed bay windows. This front has a doorway with distinctly rustic Ionic columns, remarkable at such a late date.
The interior is notable for the staggering mid 17th century plasterwork in the ceilings of the Great Hall and drawing room, which have heavy wreaths and disporting cherubs. The ceilings are barbaric in their excesses, and the figures are relatively poorly modelled, although the undercutting is breathtaking. Not all the...
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