Worsley New Hall: WWI Hospital

Soon after his arrival in Worsley, in 1837, Lord Francis Egerton decided that both the Old Hall and the Brick Hall were inadequate for his needs and he determined to build afresh.

He commissioned the architect Sir Edward Blore, and the rst sod was cut for the foundations of the Victorian Gothic style mansion on 30th December 1839. The first stone laid on the 6th April 1840, and the building completed in 1846, the year Lord Francis became the first Earl of Ellesmere.

Royalty visited the New Hall. Queen Victoria came in 1851 and again in 1857, the Prince and Princess of Wales came in 1869, and again as King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1909. The Crown Prince of Germany and Empress Eugenie were also guests.

During World War One the fourth Earl of Ellesmere lent Worsley New Hall to the Red Cross for a hospital for wounded soldiers. The rooms were converted to wards and the patients made use of the extensive grounds. Here we show some very rare images of Worsley Old Hall as a hospital for wounded officers.

"D" Ward - possibly the only image of the interior of the hall

The area is now the site of RHS Bridgewater.

Written by Paul Hassall, Eccles & District History Society