Tudor manor house undergoes major restoration work
BBCWork to repair the roof of a timber-framed Tudor manor house has been described as "extremely challenging" by the workmen who are restoring the building.
The £1.6 million project will help secure the future of Bramall Hall, which is the only grade I-listed building in Stockport.
Luke Barlow, who leads the Under Our Roof project, said: "We try to do it using the traditional materials but every corner you turn there seems to be a new challenge because nothing is straight and there are quirky details everywhere.
"I don't know how they managed to do this 500 years ago with no machinery or lifting equipment, so to be able to do this is pretty special."
The oldest parts of Bramall Hall date from the 1380s, when King Richard II was on the throne of England.
The building was significantly enlarged in the mid-15th Century by the Davenport family.
Today's timber-framed mansion was built during the Elizabethan era, when a second storey was added, and further alterations took place in Victorian times.
In 1936, the hall and its surrounding parkland was handed over to the local council.
As part of the work on the roof, Elizabethan brick chimneys have been repointed, stone slates have been replaced, centuries-old wooden timbers have been repaired, carved oak decorative finials have been installed and new guttering has been fitted.
Rosie Horrod, a tour guide at Bramall Hall, said: "Prior to the roof restoration, every time it rained we would be running around with buckets and towels, trying to catch the drips which were appearing in new places all the time.
"That rain can cause a lot of damage to the artifacts we have here so hopefully the work will help secure the building for many hundreds more years to come."
The work is being funded by a £1.6m grant from Arts Council England and follows a major restoration of the interior of the building which was completed in 2016.
That project involved cleaning hundreds of panes of stained glass, restoring some of the antique furniture inside, and converting the old stable block into a gift shop.
The hall is of national significance due to its architecture, which includes a rare surviving example of an Elizabethan pendant plaster ceiling.
The building also includes Tudor wall paintings and the mansion stands in about 70 acres of parkland designed in the Victorian Romantic style.
When stone roof slates were removed during the restoration work, Tudor wall paintings were uncovered inside a loft space, which was home to a colony of bats.
Jany Baxter, museums collections officer at Stockport Council, said: "It's mind blowing to think that 500 years ago somebody painted these walls and there is also graffiti from people who've been here, so there are names which have been carved into the wood.
"The beautiful rafters and the paintwork are just stunning."
