Wednesday, 11th July 2007
Hall under hammer for £1.3m
BYROM HALL: Allan and Margaret ProckterBYROM Hall looks like a dolls house standing alone among the fields of Lowton, near Warrrington.
It was the family home of John Byrom, the Manchester-born poet who also created the first universal shorthand, but today is the home of Allen Prockter and his partner Margaret.
Allen bought the Grade II-listed house 30 years ago for just £23,000 from a farming family who had been there for generations. Allen said: “The farmer told me I had paid £16,000 for the nicest plot in Lancashire and £7,000 for a pile of bricks!”
It has proved to be a fabulous investment though because, now the children have left, the house is being auctioned with a guide price of £1.3m.
It comes not only with eight centuries of history but 12 acres, stables, eight bedrooms and not one but two priest holes, as well as a wealth of original features.
Allen said: “It was semi-derelict when we bought it and needed just about everything doing but we were careful to preserve all the features. It is fascinating to see the original Elizabethan timbers in the roof, some of which were recycled from ships, others massive tree trunks.
“At one time the Hall had 2,000 acres, crossing rights of the River Mersey and a moat. There is supposed to be a tunnel from the house to St Mary’s Church but we never managed to find it.”
Byrom was born in Manchester in what is now The Wellington Pub and there’s a plaque to mark his birthplace.
As well as inventing shorthand, he also penned some famous works including the Christmas carol ‘Christians Awake and Salute the Happy Morn’ which he wrote for his daughter Dolly.
Allen added: “We decided an auction was the best way to sell.
“So many people want to look at the Hall that we would be busy 24/7 showing people round who had no intention of buying!
“We also want to be able to get things finalised quickly. We already have a place in Portugal which will become our main home and want somewhere smaller here as a base in England.
“It will be a wrench to leave, the grandchildren will never forgive us, but it is too big for us now.”
Nick Green from Edward Mellor, who are auctioning the house, said: “This kind of property is so rare and essential to English heritage it is a privilege to handle the sale. It has already provoked an awful lot of interest.”
The auction is at Lancashire Cricket Club on Wednesday, July 25. More information: 0161 443 4740
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