Bank Hall
Bretherton Online

Following the recent signing of the Agreement for Lease in April 2009, the the next step forward is for both the Hall and the enabling development plans to be finalised and approved by the present owners before submission to the local authority. All this has to be done fairly quickly and later this year certain procedures have to be carried out with the Heritage Lottery Fund concerning the Award that has already been granted. With this schedule in mind, it is anticipated that building work may commence in 2010.

Brand NEW paths have been opened up to the South East of the grounds through the woodland to show off some of the areas with wild Primroses. More Sycamore trees have been felled to open up areas around the old pond area allowing views of the Giant Rift Bonsai tree!!

The Snowdrop Season (Jan-March) was very successful as always. With more new visitors as before. 

One of the lost Clock Hands from the Tower was found after being lost for at least two years when they where snapped off by a mystery wanna be "Spiderman" who had climbed up the scaffolding!

2008 Celebrates the 400 Years of the oldest part of the present Bank Hall building! April has been chosen to be the month to celebrate, The Event at the end of April (27th) shall be the date of the celebrations, with a Live Band, Refreshments by Bryne Cottage Catering and the return of the well loved Bank Hall Tea/Coffee and Cake!!

For more information visit the Events Page.

The Easter Egg Trail took place and as always proved to be lots of fun for all who attended!

Unfortunately just before Easter we had the sad news of the sudden death of Carol who was and Action Group Member. Carol was known for taking people on guided tours of the Bank Hall grounds and telling visitors all about the history of Bank Hall and about the nature in the gardens. She will be very much missed by all her friends at Bank Hall and our thoughts are with her family.

The snowdrop season has started with 223 visitors to our first Snowdrop Sunday on the 3rd February. We thank all our visitors for their feedback and support and we hope that you shall celebrate this year with us on Bank Hall's 400th year at each of our events. With the 400th party planned for April 2008.

(Click Here to see the Events Page)

For the cold Spring days at Bank Hall we have catering services in the grounds providing the following refreshments to help keep you warm while enjoying the snowdrops:

• Hot and Cold Drinks
• Bacon/ Sausage/ Egg Barms
• Chips
• Burgers
• Hot Dogs
• Cakes
• And much more!!

For more Snowdrop photos click the above photo

The Bank Hall grounds where opened earlier than usual on New Years Day for a special, never before event that is to kick off this special year to celebrate the 400 years of the  first construction of the present building of Bank Hall, Bretherton (1608).

The 'Snowdrop Sundays' shall continue every Sunday through February as usual, starting on the 3rd February 2008.

The Bank Hall grounds shall be open on Easter Sunday for the annual Easter Egg Trail!

Please turn up early to avoid dissapointment! More Easter Eggs have been ordered than last year as it was proven to be a very popular event!!

The Daffodils have now replaced the Snowdrops with even more appearing in the grounds, as it proves that the clearing of the trees have certainly given all the Bank Hall flowers a chance to show off their full glory!

There has been no events planned for March but the last Sunday of the month shall be open, but no refreshments or attractions planned.

The Snowdrop Sundays where successful as always with many visitors visiting Bank Hall (2615 visitors throughout February)

"The Snowdrop Collection of Bank Hall Bretherton" is the new edition to the Bank Hall books and has been released especially for the snowdrop period and shall be available to purchase at the events throughout the year.

The Cottage Garden Society also visited Bank Hall and held their AGM at Mere Brow Institute on Saturday 17th February, with some very interesting talks and studies on Snowdrops.

A couple of friends of the Bank Hall Action Group aranged for their friends to visit from the Midlands and enjoyed also enjoyed the special display of Snowdrops.

A yet unknown cause of a fire swept through the Bank Hall visitor centre last night (Saturday 20th Jan) at 11pm.

This has not affected the Snowdrop Sundays that shall however run as planned. The Sunowdrop Sundays shall be open a Sunday early on the 28th Jan and shall continue to the end of February (please see the events page)

The Hall has had little damage from the strong winds but a 1st floor in the East wing has however collapsed due to the rain.. this just shows the urgency of restoration and the effects that the removal of the roof can have on a building.

A few trees have been blown over in the plantations (but thankfully none of the specimin trees have been damaged)

BRAND NEW!!

Bank Hall Post Cards -25p each or 5 for £1

AVAILABLE NOW!!

The Year at Bank Hall has come to a successful end as the last visitors of the year enjoyed the Autumn colours of the Bank Hall gardens and the activities held in the grounds on the day before the gates finally closed to the public untill late January when the grounds shall re-open again for the "Snowdrop Sundays".

You can keep up-to-date with the latest news and developments only with Bank Hall Online. So check back soon!!

Autumn has finally reached Bank Hall and so have the builders... they have successfully removed hundreds of slates from the lofty roofs which are now in storage. The old wooden beams have now been exposed to show off the structure and what support it needs until the go ahead has been given to start the work to restore Bank Hall to its former glory.

Look out for National Tree Week which is the last event of the year (See Events Page). There are lots of activities on for the children and fascinating facts about the stunning trees in the Bank Hall Gardens.

We shall also be doing a massive count over the winter to total up all the pennies we have for the "Million Pennies Apeal" and this can be seen on the Million Pennies Page.

After the worrying falls at Bank Hall where the roof had fallen in and one of the gables from the front of the house later falling into the house, work has been planned for October to give support to the structure of the building... Slates, some floors and beams that would put strain upon the building shall be removed and put into storage to prevent any further damage and to provide a safer working environment for the builders upon the start of the work of restoration.

The removal of slates shall also help with cutting costs as when they fall they plummet to their unfortunate death and cannot be reused in restoration, so any slates and masonry we can save shall be put in secure storage and shall be reused in the Restoration of Bank Hall...

Also on at Bank Hall

September brought the New Archaeology and Forensic students to Bank Hall from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) and they found the remains of yet another garden wall and some paths in the walled garden.... also the remains of an old tree from the former formal gardens.

The day was hot, sunny and enjoyed by all! I am sure the ice-cream man never stoped! Well done to all the prize winners and thank you to all who entered the competition and for bringing your cars to display. As always thank you to everyone for your support and you can look forward to the next Event which is the Family Funday on 20th August 2006.(click here to see events)

The roof above the entrance hall at Bank Hall has fallen through due to the GIGANTIC water tank that supplied the house falling thorough the ceiling and bringing the roof with it!

The water tank had started to collapse in late April causing the roof to buckle. As the detrition continued the tank and the girders supporting the tank in the roof space fell to an angle supported by an internal wall. On the 19th July the wall fell causing the tank to slide and fall into the entrance hall.

To get an idea of how big the water tank is, then it is said that when it is full with water it weighs 20tons! Obviously the water had since drained away, but part of the roof above the tank had dropped into the tank causing more weight.

This has not affected the restoration project as the tank would have had to be removed from the building...

 Mary Esstlemont a very good friend of the Bank Hall Action Group sadly passed away, we have decide to name one of the Bank Hall snowdrops after here. Mary kindly visited Bank Hall in the summer of 2005 for the Action Groups 10th aniversary celebration and later again in February for the snowdrops 2006.

It was a pleasure to meet Mary and her family and to hear what it was like to live at Bank Hall in the 1930's with the Seddon-Brown family who leased Bank Hall from the Lilford family. 

Mary's Memories of Bank Hall can be found in the visitor centre on open days at Bank Hall (See the Events Page).

The rabbits had been very busy at Bank Hall preparing for the 'Easter Egg Trail' which was a great success and was fun for all the family! What a beautiful day it was, the sun kept shining well after everyone had gone home to eat their well earned eggs!!

The snowdrop sundays at Bank Hall where a great success we had over 4,000 Visitors over the six Sundays that we where open.... Thank you to all the visitors for your support and dont forget to check out the other events (see "Events" page)...

If you have any photos that you took on your visit or if you would like to show us the snowdrops in your garden from Bank Hall, please post them in the "Snowdrop" Photo Albumn.

Post on the following link...

http://groups.msn.com/BankHallBrethertonChat/snowdrops.msnw

Daffodils

The Daffodil Day was a great day to visit Bank Hall, bringing your mum or grandma to show her the beautiful daffodils amongst the last of the snowdrops would have been a real treat...

Look out soon for the next flowers which are the Bluebells!!