HEATON HALL

Designed by James Wyatt in 1772, Heaton Hall was the home of Sir Thomas Egerton whose ancestors were the Hollands.

The Egertons were a family of considerable status under both the Plantagenet and the Tudor dynasties. The head of the family in King James I's time (1603-25) was Sir Rowland Egerton. He was made a baronet in 1617, and his wife was a daughter of Lord Grey de Wilton, thus helping to establish the first links in a chain which was to connect the two families and subsequently Heaton Hall and parklands for almost three centuries.

In 1684 Sir John Egerton, the third baronet, married Elizabeth Holland, who was heiress to Heaton and Denton, her family having been lords of Denton, a parish to the east of Manchester, covering a massive 35,000 acres, which they had held since the 14th century.

Through natural inheritance the estate passed from father to son, and it was Sir John's grandson who made the decision to build a new hall on an elevated site in the Heaton estate, then a remote part of the country set among hills and country lanes.

It was the seventh baronet, Sir Thomas Egerton, who had the most impact on Heaton Hall, calling on the services of James Wyatt, one of England's most prestigious architects, to trasnform the house.

Amongst the distinguished guests at Heaton Hall, can be listed:
the Duke of Wellington
William Huskisson MP, and
Benjamin Disraeli, the future (then) British Prime Minister

In 1784 Sir Thomas Egerton was elevated to the peerage with the title of Baron Grey de Wilton, and in 1801 became the first Earl of Wilton, a title taken from Wilton Castle in Herefordshire, which also had ancient links with the family.

In 1901, Arthur George Grey, the fifth Earl, sold Heaton Hall and Park to Manchester Corporation for the sum of £230,000 the formal agreement being completed 14th March 1902.

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