Greater Manchester Heritage Attractions

Heritage sites such as castles, Roman remains, stately homes & gardens, cathedrals, country houses, historic monuments, etc in Greater Manchester...

Since the stone age, man has been creating majestic structures that we still marvel at today. Whether you are interested in ancient monuments, battlefield sites, re-enactments, Roman and Norman forts and castles, stately homes, country houses, historic cathedrals, ruined abbeys etc, this is the page that should give you the information you need.

Here we try to list properties in private ownership but open to the public (even if only occasionally) as well as those in the care of the organisations like National Trust or English/Scottish Heritage. Please help us make this guide comprehensive by sending us details of missing attractions.

Greater Manchester Ancient Monuments, Castles, Roman Forts, Battlefield Sites, etc

Barrow Bridge Village

Barrow Bridge Road, off Moss Bank Way, Bolton
Tel: 01204 334400

Attractive cottages, bridges over the stream, picnic area and '63 steps' onto the moors.

Bury Castle Remains

Castle Square, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL9 0LB
Tel: 0161 253 5111 Fax: 0161 253 5919
E-mail: TouristInformation@bury.gov.uk

The only visible remains of Bury Castle, built by Sir Thomas Pilkington in 1469, is a section of medieval foundations. A guide to the history of Bury Castle is available from Bury Tourist Information Centre.

Victoria Baths

Hathersage Road, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, M13
Tel: 0161 224 2020
E-mail: info@victoriabaths.org.uk

Designed by Manchester's first City Architect, Henry Price, opened in 1906, this Grade II listed building is surprisingly intact with most of the stained glass and original tiling.

Greater Manchester Stately Homes, Country Houses & Gardens

BRAMALL HALL

Stately Homes & Gardens

Bramhall Park, Bramhall, Greater Manchester, SK7 3NX

Bramall Hall is a magnificent example of a 'Cheshire Black and White' timber-framed Tudor manor house, with origins dating back to Medieval England. Journey through the building to see the beautiful Tudor rooms with spectacular plaster ceilings, a wonderful 16th century embroidered carpet and wall paintings. The Victorian Kitchen and servants' quarters, give a unique insight into the families and servants who have lived and worked at Bramall. The Hall is set in 66 acres of beautiful parkland which has been landscaped in the style of Capability Brown. The park features two lakes, woodland walks and a toddlers' play area.

Tel: 0845 833 0974 Fax: 0161 486 6959
E-mail: bramall.hall@stockport.gov.uk
Web: www.bramallhall.org.uk

Dunham Massey Hall Park and Garden

Altrincham, Greater Manchester, WA14 4SJ
Tel: 0161 941 1025 Fax: 0161 929 7508
E-mail: dunhammassey@nationaltrust.org.uk

Dunham Massey Hall Photo © Paul Ashwin
Dunham Massey Hall -
Photo: Paul Ashwin CCL

Dunhan Massey Deer park Photo © Carol Walker

Dunham Massey Deer park -
Photo: Carol Walker CCL

Country estate including mansion with important collections and ‘below stairs’ areas, impressive garden and deer park.

An early Georgian house built around a Tudor core, Dunham Massey was extensively reworked in the early years of the 20th century.

The result is one of Britain’s most sumptuous Edwardian interiors, housing exceptional collections of 18th-century walnut furniture, paintings and Huguenot silver, as well as extensive servants’ quarters.

Here is one of the North West’s great plantsman’s gardens with richly planted borders and majestic trees, as well as an orangery, Victorian bark house and well house.

The ancient deer park contains a series of beautiful avenues and ponds and a Tudor mill, originally used for grinding corn but refitted as a sawmill c.1860 and now restored to working order.

Lyme Hall & Park

Disley, near Stockport, Cheshire SK12 2NX
Tel: 01663 762023 Fax: 01663 765035
E-mail: lymepark@nationaltrust.org.uk

Lyme Hall Photo © Alan Fleming
Lyme Hall -
Photo: Alan Fleming CCL

The Cage Lyme Park Photo © Stephen G. Taylor
The Cage Lyme Park -
Photo: Stephen G. Taylor CCL

Great estate with lavishly decorated house and fine gardens.

Originally a Tudor house, Lyme was transformed by the Venetian architect Leoni into an Italianate palace.

Some of the Elizabethan interiors survive and contrast dramatically with later rooms.

The state rooms are adorned with Mortlake tapestries, Grinling Gibbons wood-carvings and an important collection of English clocks. The 6.8ha (17 acre) Victorian garden boasts impressive bedding schemes, a sunken parterre, an Edwardian rose garden, Jekyll-style herbaceous borders, reflection lake, a ravine garden and Wyatt conservatory.

The garden is surrounded by a medieval deer park of almost 566ha (1400 acres) of moorland, woodland and parkland, containing an early 18th-century hunting tower (The Cage).

Lyme appeared as ‘Pemberley’ in the BBC’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice.

White Cottage

Dunham Massey, Little Bollington, Altrincham, WA14 4TJ
Tel: 0161 928 0075 E-mail: dunmasswhite@nationaltrust.org.uk

Timber-framed cottage, built c.1500. Originally constructed as a cruck-trussed open hall, the building was altered in the 17th century. Recently restored by the Trust using traditional materials and techniques and now a private residence, it is open to visitors by kind permission of the tenants. All visits must be booked through the NT Altrincham office, tel. 0161 928 0075 Mon to Fri 9–5pm.

Ordsall Hall

Ordsall, Salford, Greater Manchester, M5 3AN
Tel: 0161 872 0151 Fax: 0161 872 4951
E-mail: ordsall.hall@salford.gov.uk Web: www.salford.gov.uk

A Grade 1 listed medieval manor house owned by the Radcliffe family for centuries.

Brookside Garden Centre

Macclesfield Road (A523), Poynton, Cheshire
Tel: (01625) 872919 Web: www.brooksideminiaturerailway.co.uk

Come and visit Cheshire's Tourism Award Winning attraction. With plenty to see and do from, little trains, wonderful gardens and rides to enjoy the scenery.

Greater Manchester Cathedrals, Historic Churches, Abbeys

MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL

Churches & Cathedrals

Cathedral Yard, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M3 1SX

The cathedral was once the centre of medieval Manchester, dedicated by Henry Vth to St. Mary, St. Denys and St. George. Built in a perpendicular Gothic style, illustrated by the tall windows and its flat, fan-vaulted ceilings. Today Manchester Cathedral has Visitor Centre and admission is free!

Tel: 0161 833 2220 Fax: 0161 839 6218
E-mail: office@manchestercathedral.com
Web: www.manchestercathedral.org

Chadkirk Chapel

Vale Road, Romiley, Stockport
Tel: 0161 474 4460 Email: chadkirk.chapel@stockport.gov.uk
Web: www.stockport.gov.uk

A restored 14th Century chapel located within the Chadkirk Country Estate.

St. Ann's Church

St Ann's Square, Manchester
Tel: 0161 834 0239 Web: www.stannsmanchester.com

A Grade 1 listed neo-classical building dating from 1712, often ascribed to Sir Christopher Wren or one of his pupils. A building of historic and architectural merit, the church tower is said to mark the exact centre of the city of Manchester.

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