Hough End Hall

My Mum and Dad had their engagement party at Hough End Hall back in 1981 (the night ended with my Mum getting drunk and dropping my Dad’s meat pie supper outside the chippy on the way home — quite frankly, on the strength of that anecdote, I’m surprised that I’m even alive) so it’s quite nice to see that the old place has been spruced up and reopened to the public after being closed for a number of years.
Hough End Hall is a really beautiful old building, with a rather long and illustrious history behind it. It was built in 1596 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I by Sir Nicholas Mosley (ca. 1527 – 1612), when he became Lord of the Manor of Manchester and of the dependent Manor of Withington. The Mosleys were an influential Mancunian family from the 16^th century onwards, and prominent in the affairs of the Manchester district for two and a half centuries. (Anthony Mosley of Manchester and his brother Nicholas in London were wealthy drapers.) At the time Manchester was incorporated as a borough (1838) the manorial and market rights were still the property of the Mosleys (in 1845 Sir Oswald sold these to the corporation). Mosley Street in Manchester is named after them, and yes — you are thinking correctly — they did produce ‘that’ Oswald Mosley.
But enough of the history lesson, what’s it actually like inside now it’s been reopened to the public? Well, it certainly looks a lot more modern — the main bar area is filled with brand new leather sofas and in some places, you can still smell the paint. However, to me, the ambience felt like that you’d get in a 1980s style bar. The range of wine and beer wasn’t that great, and I can’t help but laugh at the thought that any bar thinks that someone would realistically pay £45 for a bottle of bog standard Smirnoff vodka. But still. I’ve yet to dine there, so perhaps I should reserve judgement until I’ve actually had a meal in their restaurant which is promising great culinary things for the people of South Manchester and beyond. Perhaps the venue just needs to settle down a bit and create an atmosphere which is distinctly ‘different’ and unique to everything else currently being offered. I look forward to paying it a second visit in the near future and seeing if the new owners of this wonderful building will really do justice to its magnificent history.