Mere Old Hall

An earlier house on the site was rebuilt in the 17th century by Sir Peter Brooke MP, a member of the Brooke family of Norton Priory, who had bought the house in 1652 from the Mere family. It was extended in stages, and by the early 18th century had become a large brick house with eleven bays by nine bays. Later a bow window with a dome was built as an entrance, and later still pavilions were added. During the 19th century the house was reduced in size to an L-shaped building. Sir Peter's grandson, Peter Langford-Brooke, built Mere New Hall in 1834 and let the Old Hall. Among the tenants were merchants and manufacturers from Manchester, including the calico printer William Graham Crum, whose…