DoneThat
Little Moreton Hall, Congleton Cheshire.
The Long Gallery which runs the entire length of the south range. It is rooved with heavy gritstone slabs and the weight has caused the supporting floors below to buckle.
The crossbeams, seen in the picture, between the arch-braced roof trusses were probably added in the 17th century to prevent the structure from literally bursting apart under the load.
It is, however, a very impressive room.
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Ceiling detail of the Long Gallery showing complex wooden structures.
This also shows one of the end tympana with a plaster depiction of Fortune, the second tympanum shows Destiny. The Long Gallery was always sparsely furnished and would have been used for exercising when the weather was inclement and as a games room. Four early 17th-century tennis balls were discovered behind the wood panelling.
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The Upper Porch Room, leading off the Long Gallery, was furnished as a bedroom by the mid-17th century and features this rather fine fireplace incorporating figures of Justice and Mercy. Its central panel contains the Moreton coat of arms quartered with that of the Macclesfield family, celebrating the marriage of John de Moreton to Margaret de Macclesfield in 1329.
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The Chapel contains Renaissance-style tempera painting, thought to date from the late 16th century. The chancel was probably a later addition dating from the mid-16th century and is separated from the nave by an oak screen and projects eastwards from the main plan of the house, with a much higher ceiling.
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The Corn Store, adjacent to the Chapel, may originally have been used as accommodation for a gatekeeper or steward but by the late 17th century it had been converted into a grain store by raising the floor to protect its contents from damp. Five oak-framed bins inside may have held barley for the Brew-house.
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