Astley Hall

Astley Hall is a country house in Chorley, Lancashire, England. Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed here for a time. The hall is now owned by the town and is known as Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery. The extensive landscaped grounds are now Chorley's Astley Park. The site was acquired in the 15th century by the Charnock family from the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.The Charnocks built the original timber-framed house, around a small courtyard, about 1575-1600. In 1665, Margaret Charnocke married Richard Brooke of Mere in Cheshire, and they built the present grand but asymmetrical front range of brick with a pair of vast mullion and transomed bay windows. This front has a doorway with distinctly rustic Ionic columns, remarkable...