Monument record 1264/1/2 - West Hall, High Legh

West Hall of High Legh, the home of the Egerton Leigh family. The 2 halls in High Legh were situated close together, practically back to back and were separated by a wall (1). The remains of the ancient West Hall are now used as a farmhouse. An addition of modern date has been recently enlarged (2). The West Hall was included on the provisionally list as a grade III building and described as originally a black and white 16th-17th century timbered house, but remodelled or rebuilt in the 19th century (3). Engraving in Ormerod's History of Cheshire shows it to have been a gabled house of some pretension. Enlarged and rebuilt in brick 1814 and finally demolished 1935 (4).

<1> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 101/97-138 Richards R 1949 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<2> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Ormerod G 1882 1/455 (Book). SCH1389.

<3> Department for the Environment, Various, Provisional List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, /7/3 1947 (Report). SCH2744.

<4> de Figueiredo P & Treuherz J, 1988, Cheshire Country Houses, /241-2 (Book). SCH785.

<5> Chester Archaeology, 1993, High Legh Golf Course: Desk Based Assessment (Client Report). SCH1344.

A desk-based assessment undertaken in 1993 in advance of the development of a golf course at High Legh examined the origins and history of the estate and village of High Legh and what remains today. The first reference to High Legh or 'Lege' occurs in Domesday in 1086; it is recorded that at the time of Edward the Confessor's death in 1066, it was in the possession of two men Wulfgeat and Dot. 'Lege' was assessed as having one hide (circa 120 acres) of taxable land, including both arable and woodland. Domesday also mentions a church and a priest at Lege and also a 'haia' or 'haeg', an enclosure possibly related to management of deer (see 1264/2/0). The division of High Legh between two land owners in 1066 suggests an earlier origin for the two manors, East and West Hall, evident in medieval documents. Dot held manors at Appleton and Grappenhall, to the north and west of High Legh, and Wulfgeat held manors at Lymm and Mere, to the north and east, suggesting that Dot was the Lord of West Hall and Wulfgeat the Lord of East Hall.

William I then redistributed land to those who supported him in his invasion of England breaking up the estates of the former Saxon landlords. Dot's estate was divided between Osbern Fitz Tezzo and Gilbert of Venables, who received West Hall, and he also assumed Wulfgeat's estate, uniting the two manors of High Legh. However by the reign of Henry II (1154-1189) the estate was again divided between two manors, potentially sublet by Gilbert of Venables to families both with the surname of Legh. The manor at West Hall was partitioned in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307), one part being purchased by Sir Richard Massey of Tatton. That at East Hall continued in descent in a single family from Eswald (late 11th century) until the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509) when the direct male line became extinct with the death of Ralph Legh; it then passed to a collateral descendant of Eswald, Thomas Legh.

The West Hall (see 1264/1/2) was a timber-framed structure with nineteenth century additions. By the nineteenth century it had become a farmhouse following the demolition of one wing in the eighteenth century. East Hall (see 1264/1/1) was rebuilt in stone during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), and then replaced by a brick building in the eighteenth century. Both buildings were requisitioned by the army during World War II and demolished as recently as 1962.

In the medieval period each hall had its own Chapel of Ease and these, at least in part, still survive. The chapel of West Hall was constructed in timber in 1408 and replaced by a Neo-Classical structure in 1814. This burnt down and was superceded by the Church of St John (see 1264/1/4) in 1893, built by Edmund Kirby on the stumps of the former chapel. The chapel of East Hall (see 1264/1/3), dedicated to St.Mary, was founded in 1581 and is now possibly the oldest surviving building in the village, with later additions in the 19th century.

Comparison of the Tithe Map and Awards for this area in 1849 with estate maps dating to 1786 and 1824 illustrate that the former Turnpike road, which formed the southern boundary of the estate and which was still in use in 1824, had been abandoned by the time of the Tithe Award in 1849. The course of this road is still visible as an abandoned trackway through the park. At the same time West Lane was pushed further westwards so that West Hall which had been situated directly off the original West Lane was now buffered from the new West Lane by gardens. However, the cartographic evidence also shows that in the north-eastern part of the estate little change in the field boundaries occurred.