3-052-571 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Manley Hall, the new public park for Manchester, 1880. 'Two miles southward from the centre of smoky Manchester, in the suburban vicinity of "Brooks's Bar"...are these beautiful ornamental grounds and mansion, which it is proposed to dedicate to public enjoyment. The project was originated some years ago by Mr. Ellis Lever...a memorial...has requested the Manchester Corporation to undertake the purchase, which is likely to be satisfactorily completed, for the salutary purpose of affording means of popular recreation...Manley Hall has delightful gardens, laid out with admirable taste and skill by its original proprietor, and hitherto kept in perfect order. The atmosphere on this side of the town is comparatively free from the noxious smoke and fumes of the factories and other industrial establishments, which too often prove detrimental to the growth of trees and shrubs, as well as to horticulture...The mansion itself, "having been built to some extent with a view to the display of pictures and other works of art, might be easily adapted for an art-museum of a popular and instructive kind, to which no doubt from time to time valuable gifts and bequests from private collections would be made".' From "Illustrated London News", 1880.