Little Moreton Hall

Little Moreton Hall is a charming house near Congleton in Cheshire, England.

The earliest parts of the house were built for the prosperous Cheshire landowner William Moreton beginning in 1504, and the rest was built by successive generations of the family until about 1610.

The Moretons seem to have been a rich family that got even richer by buying up a lot of land following the Black Death. That's what everybody says, anyway, but nobody cites any real sources. But, I mean, the Moretons were still there in 1504, which means they survived when many families did not, so there should have been land for sale. So, let's go with it.

According to the National Trust, 

The Civil War saw a dramatic change in the family’s fortunes. They were associated with the Royalist cause in a region that was dominated by Parliamentarians. As a result, William Moreton III and his son Edward were imprisoned in the early stages of the war and not allowed to return to his estate upon his release. The running of the household was left to his two daughters Anne and Jane. The Hall was confiscated by the government and the two women rented it back at an extortionate rate. They even had to contribute towards the costs of Parliamentarian soldiers and their horses. By the time William returned to the Hall, he had no hope of paying back his debts.

So the Moreton family was forced to rent out their main house and live in a smaller one. Like most rental properties, the house then began a long decline.

But then the property was inherited by Elizabeth Moreton (1821-1912), who had married well and had the money to begin the restoration of the house. She made important improvements, so it was in decent shape when it was acquired by the National Trust in 1937. 

One or more of the owners must have been worried about demons or witches, because it includes several of these hex signs, all in obscure places.

The most interesting thing about this is the house itself, which was built in a crazy by a series of craftsmen, with no overall architect, and the result has a charm that more coherent designs lack.