History
A TALE OF TWO HALLS ... One at Baguley and One at Ollerton
Much of the recorded history of Ollerton Hall has been researched by the extensive American family Bigelow who have established that their family tree sprang from the two Halls.
Exterior of Baguley Hall. The central portion dates from the 1300's: the remainder from the 1700's |
The first record is of Richard, Lord of Baguley in 1243. Richard's son, Ralph, married a daughter of Hamon de Massey whose son William succeeded to the title in 1320 and was the builder of Baguley Hall, near what is now Wythenshaw in south Manchester. That building is not currently open to the public, but is preserved as an historic monument.
A younger son, Hamon de Baguley, apparently acquired an estate at Alretvne (Ollerton) in the late 1200's. Parish records of Ollerton do not exist before 1581, but records show that Ollerton Hall was owned by a Ralph Baguley at the time of his death in 1540. Three generations later a John Biglo, as the name had become on emigration to Massachusetts, was the American progenitor of the Bigelow family.
It is believed that a building stood on the site of Ollerton Hall in Doomsday times ... although the Book only says "Ranulf Mainwaring holds, Ollerton, at 1 /2 virgate of land paying tax. Land for 2 oxen. It was and is waste".!!
It is known that the middle section of the house dates back to the 1500's and several identifiably original features remain. The southerly end was 'modernised' in 1728 by a Thomas Hubert Potts and the existing frontal elevation is certainly typical of a country manor house of that period. The lands were almost certainly quite extensive at that time ... Baguley Fold, now in the Parish of Marthall, is thought to be the collecting point for the estate sheep herds. The Baguley coat-of-arms features a ram's head, and the family had woollen interests.
The pond (on the far edge of the field which formerly provided the site of the Ollerton Cricket Club) to supply the Hall with fresh fish in pre-refrigeration days is still fished by an angling club.
We have no record of how and when the property passed into the hands of the Potts family, ... but they must have been of some substance ... one is buried inside Chester Cathedral.
When the Potts estate was sold up in 1917 it still extended well towards the 'Dun Cow' inn to the west and included several properties including Ollerton Lodge. The Hall was acquired at that time by the then tenant, Colonel and Mrs Melville, parents of Mrs Mary Hutton. Mrs Hutton was very well known in the community for her services to the Womens' Institute and to equestrian activities, whilst her husband, Horace, chaired the Parish Council for some years. The Melvilles extended the property, notably adding the 'toy room' which served as the village hall whilst that building was restored following a fire.
Legend has it that during World War II the house hosted a number of notables, including Lord Montgomery of Alamein as he became and at its conclusion the Home Farm, now a charming pair of cottages, was home to a training school for emigrants to Israel. Several fine specimen trees have survived ... a tulip tree allegedly being listed in a register compiled by Randolph Churchill.
The Hall, and the adjacent cottages, are protected by a Grade II listing
COADE - The Story behind a mysterious Coat of Arms on an Ollerton Stable Block. 
The stable block, above which the Coat of Arms is mounted, was erected in 1800. The Coat of Arms is made of Coade stone and is stamped Coade Lambeth 1804. The Royal Coat of Arms was altered in 1801 when the shield in the centre was changed to the Arms of Hanover and the escutcheon in the centre of the shield is the Electoral Bonnet of Hanover, rather than the Royal Crown which replaced it in 1816. This particular Coat of Arms is that of the Prince Regent.
Mrs Coade went into partnership with Daniel Picton who made artificial stone at a factory in Whitechapel before moving to Lambeth. She soon replaced Picton and Mrs Coade herself died in 1821.
Coade stone is a ceramic. The moulds and carvings were initially by Rossi and then by John Bacon, both eminent sculptors. Coade stone pieces adorn Buckingham Palace and were exported to America, Russia and Brazil (the entrance to the zoo in Rio de Janiero is made of Coade stone.
The formula for making Coade stone was lost, but its composition has been elucidated by Cleere and Pettifer 2001. The mix was apparently fairly straightforward, the unique weather resistant properties of the ceramic are probably the result of the manufacturing process.
The inscription on the base remains a mystery. It is not known for certain whether the Coat of Arms was added to the stable soon after it was built or whether it arrived in the 19th century, such evidence as is available suggests that it was added in or around 1804/1805.
