Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire

National Trust.
Little Moreton Hall was built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, entirely of timber framing. It surrounds a central courtyard. While most of the hall is of two storeys, the south wing has three storeys, the top floor being filled with a magnificent long gallery, possibly added as an afterthought. At any rate, the weight of the gallery and its heavy stone roof has distorted the structure below, and the floor of the gallery now resembles a wave-tossed sea frozen in oak.

(Those of an engineering turn of mind may note that the Trust recently inserted hidden steelwork to hold up the 3rd floor, and that the Hall’s undulations owe less to a medieval lack of string and spirit levels than the tendency of vertical posts to rot at the bottom and slump downwards over the centuries.)

Apart from three pieces, all the original furniture has disappeared and the rooms are shown unfurnished. The interior is corridor-less, with one room leading into another.
The building is of exceptional interest, and the external timbers have been cut in a variety of patterns to glorious effect. The whole is a testament to the ingenuity and skill of Tudor workmen.
Besides the house, there is a chapel with wall painting dating from the 16th century. The built-in dog kennel in the courtyard may amuse visitors.

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