SOUTH TUNLEY HALL FARM
A BRIEF HISTORY
The Farm was tenanted in the 15th and early 16th centuries by the Wilson family, rented from Cockersand Abbey, which was near Lancaster.
In 1537, as a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, by Henry VIII, the Wilson family bought it.
The current house was built in 1622 adjacent to an earlier hall which was then demolished. The west wing was completed in 1667 and the stone steps and landscaping in 1676.
Thomas Wilson, a devout Presbyterian, fought with the Roundheads in the civil war. Some Cromwellian armour still survives and is stored in an oak chest in the hall.
Presbyterian services were held at Tunley from 1662 until 1691 when Tunley Chapel, built half a mile away, was completed. Its the oldest one in England.
In 1955, Fred and Mary Riding were granted a farm tenancy from the Wilson family. who still owed it.
Unfortunately, the hall had fallen into disrepair, and consequently the east wing was demolished. The farm buildings were modernized and a dairy herd of 28 cows was established. The Retreat housed some 8 of these cows, along with a feed storage area above, which is now the current Kitchen.
In 1984, the Riding family were given the opportunity to buy the farm. For the first time in 450 years it had new owners.
In 1997, while excavating for a garden room extension, adjacent to the main hall, an underground priest-hole was discovered, near to the existing cellar. We have been told it is unique, the only one man underground priest-hole in England.
Many musket balls have been found around the house and fields, indicating that a small skirmish probably did occur as the Cavaliers were being chased towards Wigan, following their defeat at the Battle of Preston, by Oliver Cromwell's army on August 17th 1648.
When Fred and Mary took over the farm in 1955, they were told by several local people that the main bedroom in the east wing was known as Cromwell's Room.
