Rufford Old Hall

#manchestertrips Rufford Old Hall is a National Trust property in Rufford, Manchester, England. Built in about 1530 for Sir Robert Hesketh, only the Great Hall survives from the original structure. A brick-built wing in the Jacobean style was added in 1661, at right angles to the Great Hall, and a third wing was added in the 1820s. A carved wooden screen made of bog oak in the Great Hall probably dates from between 1530 and 1540. It is described by Nikolaus Pevsner as being "of an exuberance of decoration matched nowhere else in England", and is the only known surviving example from the first half of the 16th century. It stands at the north end of the great hall, covering the entrance to the original kitchens. It has three finials and eight traceried panels. Angels carry shields bearing the arms of Fitton and Banastre families. The National Trust guidebook notes three errors in construction, and suggests that these may have been made deliberately, to avoid a charge of heresy being laid against its craftsmen, due to the contemporary belief that only God was capable of perfection. One panel is laid upside down, one has a variant pattern and one angel has an additional finger.