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Resident Kevin Collins at the site of the now ruined historic hall. He has demanded immediate action.
Resident Kevin Collins at the site of the now ruined historic hall. He has demanded immediate action.
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Tonge Hall: Something must be done soon

Dan Thompson
13/ 3/2008

A CONCERNED resident has called for action to safeguard the future of historic Tonge Hall.

The once magnificent Tudor mansion was partially destroyed in a devastating arson attack last year after months of vandalism.

Kevin Collins, 73, said the building has been left to go to rack and ruin ever since. He demanded for work to be done to protect the dilapidated building and to prevent youths entering the premises to cause mischief.

Mr Collins, of Tonge Hall Close, said: "The roof's ready to collapse and youths are going in and rooting around. I've been like a caretaker there, trying to shift them on."

He added: "The council have said they will do this and do that to make it safe, but they don't seem to be putting words into action. I'm just a stupid tax payer, after all."

Tonge Hall, which lies on William Street, off Oldham Road, is on English Heritage's Register of Buildings at Risk in the Greater Manchester area.

The Tudor black and white building dates back to around 1580 and has many of its original features, including oak beams and inglenook fireplaces.

It had considerable restoration work and alterations but became a regular target for burglars and vandals, to the devastation of owner Captain Norman Wolstencroft

Since the fire in June last year, a question mark has surrounded the fate of the Grade II* listed building. But in September, Middleton Township named it as a top priority for conservation area status in a bid to safe the historical mansion.

Mark Dalzell, Building Control Manager at Rochdale Council, said he had taken part in recent meetings to discuss imminent plans for Tonge Hall.

He said: "We're currently putting together some proposals to stabilise the building by removing imminent dangers such as loose debris, and we're also hoping to put some protective scaffolding up.

"I fully appreciate the concerns raised by local residents and we've already put some temporary measures in place as a result to secure the building.

"This is an important listed building and the council is putting together a scheme through the Development Control Service to protect the fire-damaged structure so that restoration can be achieved at some future date.

"It will now only hopefully be a matter of weeks before work can start to make it even safer and to install the protection measures."


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Most recent 1 of 1 user comments

   I have in the past made comments in this newspaper regarding the situation at Tonge Hall. I visited regular when Albert Wolstencroft lived there. He would have gone mad to see how it is now. He was very proud of it. I was led to belief that it would be left to The National Trust as long as he could end his days there. He said then that his son would not live there but I feel his son has a lot to answer for. It is worthless now and should be given to some body to retore it to it's former glory.
Bengy, Barnsley
14/03/2008 at 01:26
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