Astley Hall in Chorley Fully Reopens After £400,000 Restoration
Astley Hall in Chorley, Lancashire, has fully reopened after a £400,000 restoration. The Grade I-listed house has welcomed visitors back into rooms that were previously closed, following the final phase of a six-year restoration programme.
The work has put historic furniture and artwork back on display. Bedrooms have been furnished to reflect life at the hall more than 170 years ago.
The West Wing
The restoration focused on the West Wing, a section of the house built in about the 1570s for the local Charnock family.
The Stucco Bedroom and the Cromwell Bedroom have been refreshed and furnished to reflect life in 1852, when Lady Susannah Hoghton lived at the hall, Chorley Council said.
Museum curator Amy Dearnaley said the timber had begun to deteriorate before the work started, and staff had been moving furniture and other objects out of the way. She also pointed to the Oak Bedroom, which holds an Elizabethan bed she described as one of the finest examples from its time.
The hall's kitchen display was recreated earlier from photographs taken in the early 1900s and from historical inventories. Items were sourced to match those in the pictures, down to a birdcage. A newly arranged Room of Reflection holds artworks and objects from the Second World War.
Funding and visitors
Chorley Council said the £400,000 project was funded by its own investment alongside £100,000 from the Wolfson Foundation, £34,000 from the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund and £5,000 from the Friends of Astley Hall.
Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle called Astley Hall "one of Lancashire's best-kept secrets", admitting he was "totally biased". Sir Lindsay said the hall, which stands in Astley Park near Chorley town centre, was an important part of the town's history, and he praised the council's continued investment in preserving it.
The council's deputy leader, Peter Wilson, said preserving the building was only part of the aim. It also needed to be open for people to enjoy and learn about its history.
Upcoming events include The Longest Yarn exhibition in November and Christmas activities at the hall.
Source: BBC News