Deciphering Ordsall Hall’s Layers of Gothic History: Medieval to Victorian

To celebrate 10 years since our HLF restoration in 2011, this May we will be hosting an online lecture series, looking at the Hall’s unique history, architecture and community.

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA, Honorary Research Fellow of History at Manchester Metropolitan University will be opening the programme with a 40 minute lecture.

Ordsall Hall is the oldest surviving building in Salford and the third oldest in Manchester after the Cathedral and Chetham’s Library. This talk by Peter Lindfield, an expert in medieval and modern Gothic architecture and furniture, looks at the layers of history on display at the hall.

Exploring the great late-medieval hall, whose quatrefoil decoration was so influential in the design of other timber-framed buildings in the vicinity, the talk also assesses its modification and partial reconstruction in the nineteenth century: you will get a real flavour of the building’s dramatic history.

Ordsall Hall’s prized furnishing, The Radclyffe Bed, is also looked at in detail; whilst appearing to be largely Tudor in design, it is shown to be a largely reconstructed bed augmented in the nineteenth century by the antiquary, architect, and nefarious forger George Shaw of Uppermill in Saddleworth.
Well illustrated, this talk will guide you through the hidden history of the Hall and its repeated recreation as the Gothic jewel in Salford’s crown.

Tickets cost £5 per person.

The lecture series will be run through Zoom Conferencing Software with a Meeting ID and password sent out via email after the purchase of an Eventbrite ticket.

*70% of funds raised from the sale of tickets to this event will go directly to the upkeep of Ordsall Hall and its community events.