Biddulph Old Hall
by A hall that was attacked by Oliver Cromwell.
Biddulph Old Hall can be found in the county of Staffordshire U.K., the name Biddulph means “by the digging” which reflects the mining traditions of the town of Biddulph. Nearby Biddulph Grange houses one of the most important Victorian gardens in Britain which was constructed by the Bateman family in the 1800s. The photograph below shows Biddulph Old Hall as it is today, during the Civil war it was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell and his Roundhead army.
The ruins of Biddulph Old Hall. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
Oliver Cromwell and his army pursued Lord Brereton from Cheshire, he reached BiddulphOld Hall where he took refuge with the Biddulph’s who lived there, they were then besieged by the Roundhead army. The hall was eventually destroyed after coming under bombardment by a famous large canon known as “Roaring Meg” belonging to the Rounhead army.
Canon ball impressions can still be seen in the walls of the hall from when it came under fire by the canon known as “Roaring Meg”. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
During the 1930s one of the estate workers was digging at the base of one of the walls of Biddulph Old Hall when his spade struck something, upon further investigation a wooden box was uncovered, when the box was opened a perfectly preserved pair of duelling pistols were revealed. The pistols had obviously belonged to someone important as they had gold engraving upon them. Were they Oliver Cromwells or perhaps Lord Brereton’s? It is known the workman sold the pistols to a local headmaster for 10 guineas, probably not realising the historical importance of such a find. Where the pistols are now no one knows for sure, perhaps they are in someones private collection and they don’t realise the historical importance of their previous owner!
Was this the wall where the duelling pistols were found? Photo by Gary Tacagni.
The old entrance to Biddulph Old Hall. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
Another view of the Hall. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
This is a shot from the front of the Hall. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
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Post CommentLeo Reyes
On October 13, 2008 at 7:32 am
Nice pics. Is this place found in Stoke-on-Trent?
moondust234
On October 13, 2008 at 8:20 am
Hi Leo, yes it is on the outskirts of Stoke-on-trent, between Congleton and Biddulph. Regards Gary
Leo Reyes
On October 13, 2008 at 9:39 am
Thanks for the info. I stayed in Tunstall and Hanley for a few months. I missed these places. Thanks again. Are you from England?
moondust234
On October 13, 2008 at 11:11 am
Hi Leo, yes I live in Congleton which is probably 7-8 miles from Stoke-on-trent.
goodselfme
On October 13, 2008 at 2:14 pm
The shadows create such a unique feeling for these posts. Nice documentation as always. Thank you.
Stephen
On November 19, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Does anyone know if it`s true:
When I was a little lad my grandad used to tell me that there was a “secret” escape tunnel connecting the Old hall with Biddulph Grange, which then lead on to Biddulph Church ?
Chris
On May 11, 2010 at 1:40 pm
hi steve yeh its true there is a secret tunnel n i know where it is but it is blocked off by bricks so you can\’t go very far in. But it starts in a wood off fold lane and then the exit is in the cellar of the old hall. At the entrance there is supposedly an old road which leads down to the brook which then carries on and you can actually see a cobled road in the brook and this road leads to the church. It was used for priests to get from the church to the old hall.
Oh yeh and at night they say there is ghosts at the hall and weird stuff happens.
Jacob Biddulph
On June 15, 2010 at 10:56 am
Certainly need to make sure the Highways guys don’t try to pump concrete in it: although if they did, it might take a lot of concrete.
Have you told the current owners yet? They might wish to restore it as part of the current restoration project. Worth preserving our heritage I think.
moondust234
On June 15, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Hi Jacob, thanks for the comment, I’ve informed the highways department and now they are taking steps to preserve the tunnel. I’ve also been to see the landowners to keep them updated. I also need to update this site as more information is coming in all the time. The tunnel was part of a landscaped walk which was created by the Bateman family who owned Biddulph Grange, the tunnel is only the width of the road and the place where I thought it ran through the woods is actually a walkway which has now been filled in from construction work which took place at the nearby Talbot pub. Apparently there are two austin seven cars buried under this walkway! Regards Gary
Matthew Gratton
On June 16, 2010 at 10:57 am
I love this thread – keep up the good work. I moved to Biddulph a year ago and keep finding lots of interesting things about it. It amazes me that Biddulph old hall is so hidden. My did has lived here for 25 years and didn’t even know where the old hall was!!! So there are two walk ways – one near the Talbot and one on Fold lane – these were both done by the Batemans? Are the cars in the filled in one by the Talbot? Did the highways agency just fill in the Talbot hole with concrete? So there are no plans to open these two walk ways like the Batemans intended? So many questions – this is why I love it in Biddulph!
Keep up the good work – any history / research of Biddulph I would love you share with me!
moondust234
On June 16, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Hi Mathew, Thanks for the comments, the two austin sevens are in the filled in walkway on the talbot side of Fold lane, apparently they were used to transport pig swill in, and you can still find evidence of the sheds that the pigs were kept in by the edge of the clough in the wood. The owners of Biddulph Old Hall would like to re-open the walks some day, however sometime in the past the council have run a sewer pipe through the tunnel so I am not sure whether it would be feasible to re-open it. I have done other local research have a look at my website at http://www.ludchurchmyblog.wordpress.com
Regards Gary
p.s don’t go to far down the clough as the ground is contaminated by strontium from the old dye works which no longer exists.
Ash
On June 17, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Hi i would just like to say that i am almost certain that the tunnel was not made by Bateman and does lead to Biddulph Old Hall. I live near this tunnel and have known it ever sine i was a young lad. Local resources have told me that the Roundheads attacked the owners of Biddulph old hall with cannons of the top of Nick\’th of the hill. The people from Biddulph old hall then used the tunnel to escape the cannon fire and get to the church as they would be safe there. One of the main reasons in which i believe Bateman didnt build the tunnel is that their is a relatively large tree just above the tunnel entrance and this tree was probably older than Bateman so he wouldnt have built it their. Although he could of used it as a walkway im sure he didnt build it because if he had have done what purpose would it have been. But their is evidence of Bateman using the tunnel because in the brook on the entrance side of fold lane their is an old cobbled road which you can see of the bridge on grange road. This cobbled road does seem to lead towards the grange. But like i said before the tunnel was built as an escape route in the civil war to get from biddulph old hall gardens to the church.
moondust234
On June 18, 2010 at 4:19 am
Hi Ash, thanks for your comments, I welcome any information which will shed light on the purpose of the tunnel. I have been told however that the tunnel only extends the width of Fold lane and the depression you can see running through the woods would have been an open walkway which would link to the path running alongside the clough. I have searched for a tunnel entrance on the otherside of the clough which would link to Biddulph Old Hall but have been unable to find one. However if you can shed more light on this I would welcome your input.
Regards Gary
an
On August 28, 2010 at 6:13 am
hi i live in biddulph and have done all my life.
i know the location of all of your pics but one and that is the one of the entrance to the tunnal witch is bloked of wher might i find that. hope you can help
thanks. dan
moondust234
On August 29, 2010 at 8:30 am
Hi Dan, the tunnel entrance is located on private property off fold lane between the garages at the bottom of the lane and the air raid shelter in the woods.
regards Gary
Stephen
On October 16, 2010 at 10:15 am
Not only did my grandad tell me about the “secret” tunnels, but he also told me that a road, or track, close to the Talbot Inn used to be called (or maybe referred to as) “Pig`s Arse Lane” which would tie up with the pig sheds mentioned already in this thread.
This link is extremely fascinating and I`m surprised that the tunnel hasn`t been excavated and opened-up before now. During the 70`s I was a pupil at the nearby Grammar School and the history master there told me that he had spoken to a guy from the water works department who was in the crypt of Biddulph Church in search of a leaking pipe. He “allegedly” knocked a hole in one of the walls and found, admittedly looking through the hole with a torch, a “secret passageway”. The hole was cemented in and that was that. I wonder if anyone has ever been into the crypt to have a look for clues to a connecting tunnel down there ? Are you able to go into the church`s crypt ?
moondust234
On October 16, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Hi Stephen, thanks for the interesting comments, I will find out if it is possible to enter the church crypt and look for evidence of a tunnel. Gary