Hermon Hall, Hooley Hill - The Mount, Audenshaw

A mid Victorian era detached house in Audenshaw, near Manchester.

Following the discovery that my great grandmother x4 Betty Arundale (Betty Stopford) died at Hermon Hall in Hooley Hill,
I decided to Google the name. Nothing appears and it is only archive sources that reveal any history.

Betty Arundale wasd aged 84 when she died on 23rd March 1866 according to the brief entry in the deaths column¹ of the
Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner on the 31st.

Her death certificate just says Shepley Lane, Hooley Hill was the place of death.

The burial register entry for St Stephen’s church at Guide bridge only says Audenshaw. The Family tomb ledger stone in the
grave yard ostensibly ads nothing much more to the event.

Dates of construction.

The ordnance survey map published 1892 for this area of Hooley Hill depicts and names "Herman Hall"
between the Woodlands (Cartwright St) and Shepley hall farm (aka Phillips’s farm), all on whats now Shepley Rd.

However, the six inch OS map published 1848. shows the Woodlands and the farm but no building in between.

The terraced houses on neighbouring Cartwright street (Duke street) were constructed between 1856 and 1873 ².
The 1861 census for Shepley road³ states 2 houses under construction and 6 uninhabited.
A collection of historical deeds indexed on the internet ⁴ states that James Arundale (probably senior b.1809) leased
land in 1862 from the Sidebothams of Shepley Hall. The location is between Hill Street (probably bank street),
Mount Pleasant Street and Shepley road. Parts of Cartwright street, in particular Assam place was owned by
John Joseph Sidebottom when conveyed in 1878 ⁵.

Family connection & ownership.

The Wesleyan local preachers magazine and Christian Family Record vol 13 1863 ⁶ states that in that year,
James Arundale (snr) was living at Hermon Hall Hooley hill.

Coupled with the revelation at the outset of this piece, it now shows that Betty Arundale was living with
her son when she died. James is also mentioned on the St Stephen’s church grave stone.
The property was sold to William Jones in 1871⁴.

Name spelling.

Newspapers and other documentary sources have inconsistent spelling of Hermon Hall. As noted above, the local area
map says Herman Hall. The following list may be used to give weight to the various titles.

Saturday 08 April 1871 Hyde & Glossop Weekly News, and North Cheshire Herald article - Hermon Hall.
Saturday 15 April 1871 The Ashton Weekly Reporter, and Stalybridge and Dukinfield Chronicle article - Hermon Hall
Saturday 24 June 1871 - The Ashton Weekly Reporter, and Stalybridge and Dukinfield Chronicle article - Herman Hall.
Saturday 26 October 1872 Carlisle Express and Examiner advert - Hermon Hall.
Saturday 23 November 1872 Hyde & Glossop Weekly News, and North Cheshire Herald article - Hermon Hall.
Wednesday 12 December 1877 Northwich Guardian article - Hermon Hall.
Saturday 03 May 1879 Hyde & Glossop Weekly News, and North Cheshire Herald article - Hermon Hall.
Saturday 03 May 1879 Denton and Haughton Examiner article - Hermon Hall.
Saturday 05 June 1880 Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser advert - Hermon Hall.
Saturday 19 June 1880 Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser advert - Hermon Hall.

Property features.

Of brick construction, the house looks architecturally similar to some of the Methodist churches in the area.
The building is made up of a mixture of styles. The ground floor shows Greek classical, particularly at the entrance.
Roman arched windows can bee seen on the upper floor.
A description of the property can be found in a sale advertisement published⁷ twice in 1880 before its auction in June.
Of prominence is Capital Detached Villa Residence.

Biblical connection.

The name of Hermon hall and later name of The Mount may both be of a biblical origin.
Mount Hermon is an upland range on the Syria Lebanon border. It is mentioned in numerous books
of the old testament⁸. The mount may have become adopted to express the name of the building without
the formal hall name.
One such example is shown in the photo below taken from an old Arundale family bible⁸.

Occupiers.

The people living at Hermon hall are documented through the years in census records and local/national newspapers.
The following is a non-exhaustive list covering nearly a whole century.

1862 James Arundale - Land deed
1866 Betty Arundale - Newspaper death notice, Hermon Hall
1871 census William Jones - RG10/4075 folio 63a
1870's William Jones - newspaper articles, Hermon Hall
1880 Jones (to June).
1881 census James Keighley & wife, servants Hermon Hall RG11/4041 folio 121b.
1891 census Hermon Hall William Lawton, Pawnbroker RG12/3281 folio 81b.
1901 census The mount - RG13/3787 folio 46a Thorley.
1904 & 1909 Thorley - newspaper advert for Good general servant - Protestant.
1911 census The mount - RG14/24368 - Thorley
1921 census The mount - RG15/19629 - Thorley
1939 register - Constance Thorley - R39/4702.

Sources.

1. Deaths entry in the Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner, Saturday 31st March 1866 page 8 plus Manchster Guardian page 6.
2. Google streetview house date plaques on Cartwright St above no. 1 & Assam place (no. 21).
3. England and Wales Census RG09 2986 folio 66 Public records office website.
4. Lancashire Deeds index by Mike Durtnall and Ancestordocs .
5. Unpublished deeds for Duke St.
6. The Local preachers magazine and Christian family record Wesleyan vol 13 1863, p320 - google books.
7. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Saturday 05 June 1880 page p11, column 6.
8. Mount Hermon entry on Wikipedia website and The Holy Bible: with the Commentaries of Scott and Henry edited by the Rev John Eadie, 1861.

Thanks to Alison, Marian & Steve Strickland for source material.

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Last updated 05-Nov-2023