Paintings associated with the early years of the Hall and several generations of the Worsley family who lived here.
Elevations, plans and interior schemes for Platt Hall by architects William Jupp, John Carr of York and Timothy Lightoler, 1760-62, plus several further plans by hands unknown.
History of the hall
There is a rich body of archive material relating to the history of Platt Fields Park and the wider neighbourhoods of Rusholme, Moss Side, Fallowfield and Longsight.
Much of it is held by a range of organisations including Manchester Central Library GM Lives, The Friends of Platt Fields Park and the Rusholme & Victoria Park Archive.
At Platt Hall we also hold a small number of artworks, objects and documents relating to the history of the Hall and its wider environment. These include:
Plan of the Demesne Lands at Platt, 1768, by William Emes, and further drawings and plans for the grounds by hands unknown.
A trunk of clothing belonging to Thomas Carill-Worsley (1739-1809), including seven suits and coats dating from around 1760-80, nine embroidered waistcoats, a pair of black leather shoes, several pairs of plain buckles, and a dressing gown of green silk damask.
Floorplans showing the changing layout and use of the Hall in public ownership, including plans for converting the pavilions into art galleries in the 1920s, and the temporary conversion to a police station during WWII.
Reports, proposals and student projects for the development of Platt Hall during the period of the Gallery of Costume, 1947-2017.
Very little research has been carried out on the history of the building itself. A heritage conservation report was carried out in 2016 that identified the architectural and historical significance of the building, but until the project Platt Hall Inbetween began in 2019, the focus of attention had always been more on what the Hall contained than the history of the place itself. There is much scope for further research into the shadowy figure of John Lees who married into the Worsley family and commissioned the building of the Hall, and into the many other people who have lived and worked here over time, from the Worsleys’ staff and wider family to the tenants who replaced them, and from the wartime residents in two world wars to the people of Rusholme, Moss Side, Fallowfield and Longsight who spent their childhoods in Platt Fields Park and grew up with memories of the marble staircase and spooky mannequins.
