Old Hall Fold

Old Hall Fold
Old Hall Fold in 2011
Location within Greater Manchester
General information
Location	Newmarket Rd, Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England
Coordinates	53°30′01″N2°06′42″W / 53.50014°N 2.11168°W / 53.50014; -2.11168
Years built	Medieval (cruck frame) 18th century (walls and roof)
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Old Hall Fold
Designated	12 January 1967
Reference no.	1067997

Old Hall Fold is a Grade II* listed historic house on Newmarket Road in Ashton-under-Lyne, a town within Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. It is notable for its medieval cruck-framed structure encased within 18th-century brick walls and roof, making it one of the rare surviving examples of such architecture in North West England.

History

Old Hall Fold was originally part of a larger medieval hall, later divided into separate properties including Taunton Hall. Dendrochronological analysis suggests that some timbers date from the late 15th or early 16th century, with one cruck truss associated with timber felled around 1495–96. ^[1] The building was encased in brick during the 18th century, reflecting its adaptation over time. ^[2]

On 12 January 1967, Old Hall Fold was designated a Grade II* listed building for its architectural and historic significance. ^[3]

The building continues to serve as a privately owned dwelling and is not generally accessible to the public.

Architecture

Old Hall Fold is a two-storey, three-bay house with an 18th-century brick casing and a graduated stone slate roof, enclosing a medieval cruck-framed structure. Built in English garden wall bond, it features a projecting right-hand cross-wing under an outshut roof. ^[2] The front elevation has casement windows arranged in groups of four, two, and two lights, one beneath a wide cambered brick arch, with a doorway between the first and second bays and a passage leading to Taunton Hall. A brick ridge chimney stack crowns the building. The rear is rendered, with 20th-century casement windows, a small kitchen wing, and an altered shippon wing adjoining the left gable. ^[3] The building's most notable feature is the survival of three substantial cruck trusses:

• Two large medieval trusses flank the principal room, marking the original open hall, now floored over. The right-hand truss has an arch-braced collar, and an inglenook fireplace backs onto it, with a massive bressummer beam supported by a carved heck post (now partly encased).
• The third truss, in the cross-wing, is likely 16th century, with a tie-beam, collar, wattle-and-daub infill, and blades visible from floor to ridge. ^[3]

Interior details include an ovolo-moulded ceiling beam. The survival of such an early cruck-framed structure within later brick casing is rare in North West England and illustrates significant architectural evolution. ^[2]

See also

• Greater Manchester portal

• Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester
• Listed buildings in Ashton-under-Lyne

References

1. Bridge, Martin (2003). Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from Taunton Hall and Old Hall Fold, Newmarket Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. Historic England (Report). Centre for Archaeology. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
2. "Old Hall Fold". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
3. Historic England. "Old Hall Fold (Grade II*) (1067997)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 29 November 2025.