Haigh Hall
Description
Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 by James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was the Lindsay family's home until 1947, when it was sold to the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. The hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is now managed as a conference centre and wedding venue by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust on behalf of Wigan Council.HistoryHaigh had a timber-framed manor house from the late 12th century when Hugh le Norreys was lord of the manor. Its easily defended position was on or near the elevated site of Haigh Hall. The earliest recorded inhabitants were the Norreys, who lived there in 1193. Between 1220 and 1230 the manor was part of the Marsey fee and was sold to the Earl of Chester. The hall was home to the Bradshaighs from 1298 until 1780 when Elizabeth Dalrymple, great niece of Sir Roger Bradshaigh, inherited the estate as a result of the failure of the male line in her maternal family. She married Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres in 1787 and Haigh Hall became the seat of the Earls of Balcarres and, after 1848, the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, for several generations. The Bradshaigh and Lindsay fortunes were made from seams of cannel and coal under the estate which were mined from before 1536. The Lindsays founded the Wigan Coal and Iron Company, which became the largest such company on the Lancashire Coalfield.
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