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THE HISTORY OF<br />
Horse Carrs Manor House<br />
Horse Carrs Manor is a grand Victorian building that nestles in the heart of Shawclough and was originally<br />
the family home of Thomas Watson, one of Rochdale’s unsung heroes.<br />
Built of polished Astley Stone, Horse Carrs was completed in 1866 for the grand<br />
sum of £3,500, and according to an entry within Watson’s Journal, the build of<br />
Horse Carrs was given to W.A. Peters and Sons of Rochdale, the accredited builders<br />
of the Rochdale Town Hall. The Journal also records that John Ashworth was<br />
commissioned to paint the new house at the princely rate of seven old pence (7d)<br />
per square yard,<br />
(equating to just a<br />
smidgen more than<br />
2.5 pence in<br />
today’s money).<br />
On entering the Manor through the main entrance, it would have<br />
been difficult not to be impressed by the stained glass door panel<br />
that depicts the<br />
Watson’s coat of arms, and the grand entrance hall, decorated by elaborate floor<br />
tiles, a large wall mirror and a sweeping staircase, all of which is surmounted by<br />
a skylight which, weather allowing floods the hall in natural light. Records also<br />
suggest that the hallway was embellished by a life-size marble statue of Moses<br />
in the Basket, an artefact that sadly is no-longer resident in Horse Carrs.<br />
However, there is a preserved collection of Plush Fabric (a type of brushed velvet)<br />
which was invented and manufactured by Watson within his Silk Mill (Horse<br />
Carrs Silk Mill, Shawclough), and would have undoubtedly been used to add a<br />
splash of colour throughout the family home as curtains and soft furnishings.<br />
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