National Trust - Speke Hall, Garden and Estate

Speke Hall is a rare Tudor timber-framed manor house in an unusual setting on the banks of the River Mersey. Restored in the 19th century, it is a unique mixture of Tudor simplicity and Victorian Arts and Crafts aesthetics. Built by the devout Catholic Norris family, eager to impress visitors with the grandeur of their home, Speke Hall embodies more than 400 years of turbulent history. Its secret priest hole reflects Catholic persecution in the Tudor period, whilst much of the Hall’s upkeep was financed first by the Norris family’s, and later by the Watt family’s, longstanding involvement in transatlantic slavery. From building the world’s largest slave trading port to slave ownership, investment in slave-trading voyages, and shipping of slave-produced goods, these aspects of the owners’ histories are embedded in Hall’s walls. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Speke Hall experienced years of neglect and decay, including a spell when it was used as a cow shed. Finally pulled into the Victorian era of improvement and technology, the Hall was resuscitated with a Gothic revival style. In the 21st century, Speke Hall and its surrounding estate provide a place to reflect on the past and present, and about how the legacies of history remain relevant today. The Hall is surrounded by restored gardens and protected by a collar of woodland.