kimerajamm
Joined: 28 Nov 2010
Posts: 785
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 Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:59 pm Post subject: King Edward VIII |
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John Davenport returned to Bramall in 1876 at the age of 25, but on 24 January 1877 it was announced that the estate was to be sold. The furniture was auctioned,[35] while the house itself and rest of the Bramall estate (totalling 1,918 acres (7.8 km2)) was sold to the Freeholders Company Limited, a Manchester property development firm, on 3 August 1877 for £200,000.[36] According to speculation, the sale was motivated by financial issues and a personal distaste of the building.[37] It remained empty until 1882 when it was purchased by Thomas Nevill, a local industrialist whose wealth came from calico printing, for his son, Charles.[38] While living in the house, Charles Nevill carried out substantial restoration and remodelling, making the interior more comfortable while retaining most of the building's external features.[39] The landscape of the grounds was redesigned,[40] and a new stable was built along with a west and east lodge, housing the coachman and head gardener respectively.[41][42] Another building, known as Hall Cottage, was also built in the vicinity, and housed the Sidebottom family.[43]
Thomas Nevill, Charles' nephew and adopted son, inherited the estate in 1916,[38] but decided to sell it following financial difficulties after the First World War. In 1923, many items of furniture were auctioned off,[44] but there was no interest in purchase of the house. During that decade rumours arose that Bramall would be dismantled and transported to the United States; this may have been popularised by the autobiography of Kate Douglas Wiggin which described the author's visit to Bramall in 1890. In 1925, the house was auctioned, with the condition that if no purchaser came forward it would be demolished and the materials sold off.[45] At one point the local council offered to buy the estate, but Nevill rejected their offer as "unacceptable".[46] The auction received no acceptable offers. One of its attendees, John Henry Davies, president of Manchester United, later offered £15,000 for the house; this was accepted.[47] He lived in the house until his death in 1927, and his widow Amy remained there until 1935,[38] when she sold it to Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council for £14,360 with the intention that the house and park be open to the public.[48]
Under council ownership, the house was occupied by a caretaker, though most of the building was open to the public. The house and grounds were used for various functions, such as the proclamation of George VI succeeding his brother King Edward VIII to the throne.[49] At that time, the house was sparsely furnished as the Council was unable to afford much furniture.[50] One of the Council's earliest projects was the restoration of the Chapel, which had fallen out of use towards the end of the 19th century.[51] It was restored to resemble how it would have been when the Davenports were last at Bramall,[52] and a service of consecration was held on 30 October 1938 once the work had been completed.[53] In 1947, an association called the Friends of Bramall Hall was set up, primarily to find furnishings for the house, but also to advertise and assist in the upkeep of the house and grounds. Over the years, many furnishings which had once belonged to the house were returned,[54] including portraits of the occupants. The estate is now the property of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC), which acquired it in 1974, following local government reorganisation.[55]
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