Building Name

Hart Hill, Eccles Old Road Pendleton

Date
1859
Street
Eccles Old Road
District/Town
Pendleton, Salford
County/Country
GMCA, England
Architect
Client
James Dugdale
Work
New build
Status
Demolished

At the end of the eighteenth century the area beyond Pendleton was considered sufficiently rural and remote for Dr Percival, a founder of the Manchester Lit & Phil, to have his country estate at Hart Hill and a town house in Manchester. Reputedly he was one of only three men in the district to keep a carriage. Following Dr Percival’s death in 1804 the house passed through a number of owners until 1858 when it was purchased by James Dugdale of Dovecote House, Liverpool. Describe variously as a merchant and banker, (although the source of his wealth is unclear), James Dugdale appears to have moved to the Hope district of Pendleton following his marriage. Two sons were born to Mrs James Dugdale at Higher Bentcliffe in 1855 and 1857, with notices appearing in the Manchester Guardian of 19 September 1855 and 8 April 1857. About 1858 he purchased the Hart Hill estate demolishing the existing house and building on the site an Elizabethan style mansion adjoined on the west by service rooms, a glasshouse and conservatory, and a yard and coach houses, all to the designs of Walter Scott.

Hart Hill stood close to the junction of Eccles New Road and Weaste Lane in an elevated position, with a commanding view to the south. It was situated in wooded grounds and by the 1840s was approached by a lodge on Eccles Old Road. Three of James Dugdale’s children are noted as having been born at Hart Hill, the first, Herbert Crowe Dugdale, was born on 3 April 1860, and the last Mary Louisa Dugdale, born on 30 December 1863. In 1864 James Dugdale sold the estate and moved to Wroxall Abbey in Warwickshire.

The Hart Hill estate, was purchased by Salford Council in 1924, and the house demolished in 1926. The land was incorporated into Buile Hill Park.

Archive        Signed Plans dated 1859
Reference    Beryl Patten – Salford archives