Hopwood Hall 36 images Created 26 Apr 2014

Hopwood Hall, Middleton UK is where Lord Byron is reputed to have written at least part of his poem Childe Harold - a verse that made him a national celebrity.



Today it is a sorry state. Virtually derelict inside. It has recently been rescued from the elements with repairs to the roof and a secure fence. Otherwise it lies unchanged.



Its interior is a curious mix of the Medieval, Jacobean, Georgian and Regency.



The windows were shuttered up when I visited and inside I came across, by torchlight, carvings depicting naked caryatids, a savage beheading, and exotic people from afar.



Upstairs is a spere truss - a survival from the original open hall house.



Downstairs in one of the larger rooms, hidden behind a temporary plywood hoarding is a unique and exquisite aesthetic movement ceramic fire surround.



Because it was so dark some of the images needed 5 minutes exposure with resulting reciprocity.