Things to do in Rufford Old Hall's house

The Great Hall, Rufford Old Hall | © James Dobson

Built for the Hesketh family in the 1530s, and given to the National Trust in 1936, there’s plenty of discoveries to be made in this fine Tudor building. From suits of armour in the Great Hall to the series of botanical colours of Ellen Stevens in the Dressing Room.

Ground Floor

The Entrance Hall

In the 17th century, this large stone-flagged room was a kitchen, and the large arched stone fireplace would have been filled with cooking utensils, racks and pans to prepare culinary feasts. By the 1820s, the Hesketh family no longer needed a kitchen of this size, and it was transformed into an impressive Entrance Hall. Look out for the lantern-sided door head, leading to the lower passage, in which candles could be safely placed to give light to the passage steps.

The Ante-Room

Dinner guests would have waited in this room before going through to the Dining Room, but at times it has been described variously as the Morning Room and the Smoke Room. Look out for the 17^th century tapestries that line the walls and the large overmantel portrait of Sir Kenelm Digby (d.1665) after Van Dyke. You’ll also find a pair of portraits of the brothers Thomas and Frederick Fermor-Hesketh on their ponies, painted in 1892.

The Great Hall

Dating from the period 1530-50, the fine proportions and decorative richness of the Great Hall make it a rare and important survival among timber-framed buildings. It’s hammerbeam roof timbers, enriched with carved angels and exquisite late Gothic decoration, have no equal in Lancashire and it’s massive ‘movable’ screen is the only surviving example of its type.

For at least a century after it was built, the Great Hall would have been the communal eating place for the Hesketh family and all their retainers and guests. Arms and armour were traditionally kept in the Great Hall of medieval houses, and this tradition was revived in the 19^th century by many antiquarian owners such as the Heskeths. Children are welcome to play pretend and try on pieces of armour in the Great Hall.

* Please note that photographs in the house are permitted only in the Great Hall.*

The Dining Room

Built as a dining room in the 1720s, this room was given a bay window in about 1820 and then fitted out with arched doorways and a black marble chimneypiece which loosely copies Tudor Gothic patterns from the Great Hall. Look out for the magnificent Flemish landscape painting c.1630, which underwent 12 months remedial conservation in 2023. Read more here – LINK TO PROJECT PAGE

The Study

Built in the 1820s with windows overlooking the garden to the south and east, this room was described in 1910 as a ‘Ladies’ Morning Rooms or ‘Boudoir’. The room was made into a study for Thomas Fermor-Hesketh (afterwards 1^st Lord Hesketh), when he returned with his family to Rufford in 1920.

The School Room

Once a bedroom, this was made into a schoolroom in 1920 for the Hesketh’s three sons and two daughters then aged between three and ten. Look out for the early 1920s portraits by Leopold Galeota of the two younger sons, Frederick and John, and the two daughters Louise and Flora, maintaining the presence of these former pupils. Wooden toys, slates and pencils are available for children to play with.

Second Floor

The Staircase and Sitting Room

The lofty square tower of the Staircase, with its oak fittings, Gothic archways and ribbed plaster ceiling, dates from c.1820. The large room off the half-landing was a bedroom and dressing room in the 19^th century, with a passage alongside it and is currently used as an area for conservation in action, which allows visitors to see the team carrying out conservation work up close.

The Drawing Room

The most striking features of this room are the 16^th century roof timbers and stunning stained-glass windows. By the later 19^th century, the room would have been the venue for various purposes, such as hosting visitors throughout the day, afternoon tea, and a place to congregate after dinner for lively conversation, music-making, cards, and parlour games. Look out for The Squint – a spy-hole to the Great Hall.

The Dressing Room

When this room was created in the 1820s, it would have been used by the occupant of the bedroom, both for dressing and as a private sitting room. Ladies would often have regarded it as a comfortable retreat for most of the morning. Look out for the series of botanical colours of Ellen Stevens, whose uncommonly precise drawings are annotated with the exact date on which she recorded each specimen. All are from the period 1880-1904.

The Bedroom

At the end of the first floor of the 1820s wing is the bedroom, which would probably have been reserved for guests. It’s one window overlooking the garden is hung with curtains dating from the 1830s, in fine wool block-printed with sprays of flowers. Early Victorian needlework from Rufford and the surrounding villages brings colour to the room, preceded over by a pastel portrait of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, after Van Dyck.

The Philip Ashcroft Collection

In 1936, local man Philip Ashcroft had the idea of creating a village museum to preserve some of the fast-disappearing relics of south-west Lancashire folk life. Rufford Old Hall became home to that museum and now contains a great deal of old agricultural equipment displayed in the stable, as well as furniture, ceramics, books, toys and more around the house. Step back in time to a not-too-distant past and discover the story of rural Lancashire's people.

Philip Ashcroft

Philip Ashcroft (1912-1959) was the founder, donor and Honorary Curator of the Ashcroft Collection. He called his collection the Rufford Village Museum, and his aim was to preserve the history of local Lancashire life. Philip had close family links with the Hesketh family and Rufford Old Hall. After the war, Philip very generously presented his collection to the National Trust in 1946 and remained as its Honorary Curator as part of the Management Committee for Rufford Old Hall. He continued to add to the collection. Many people enjoyed hearing about his unique folk collection as he toured the country giving lectures.

Part of the collection on display in the study, pre 1980 | © Unknown

His spirit lives on…

Rufford Old Hall has been presented as a Hesketh family home since the 1980s, and items from Philip’s collection have been used to furnish it. It is easy to miss how important his influence was, and how they are part of the stories we tell today inside the house. Many smaller pieces of kitchen equipment such as cooking utensils and locally made ale and wine pots are on display in the tea-room. More decorative objects including samplers, pictures, ceramics and furniture still remain on display inside the house.

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Two visitors are walking past a bright green lawn which has decorative bushes planted on it, towards the house at Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire, on a bright sunny day.

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