Mere Hall

BOLTON

SD71SW MEREHALL STREET 797-1/2/154 (North East side) 26/04/74 Mere Hall (Formerly Listed as: MEREHALL STREET Merehall Museum)

II

Mansion, once a museum later nursery school. 1837, built for Benjamin Dobson, an engineer, and converted to museum in 1890. Brick with stone dressings and hipped slate roofs. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys. Entrance front a 3-window range, with coupled Doric columns to portico porch, and side lights to doorway. 20-pane floor length sash windows each side of doorway, the upper windows blind. Lower wing probably a later addition to the left, with 2 tripartite sash windows to first floor in return, and single 12-pane sash window below. Parallel rear range also a 3-window range, with blind upper windows and sashes below. 2-window range similarly detailed slightly recessed to the right, linked to separate wing to right, which has tripartite sash window on each floor; this wing possibly extended to rear to provide service accommodation, late C19. Garden front a 5-window range with central full-height bow window with floor length sashes. Upper windows blind. Full-height angle pilasters and stone string courses to each principal elevation. INTERIOR: not inspected. HISTORY: the house was left to the town of Bolton in 1890 by its then owner, JP Thomasson, and adapted for use as a museum by the town; its present form, including the blocking of the upper windows, is owing to that use. (Bolton and District Civic Trust: Buildings of Bolton: Bolton: 1983-).

Listing NGR: SD7107010165