Chrorlton-cum-Hardy

Chrorlton-cum-Hardy

One of the oldest golf clubhouses, or perhaps the most haunted?
Chorlton-cum-Hardy Golf Club covers about 98 acres of what was meadowland alongside the River Mersey on the southern edge of the Salford Hundred. The golf club was founded in 1902 with 9 holes, took over Barlow Hall as the clubhouse in 1905 and created the 18 holes we have today.
The de Barlow family, who originated from near Barlow in Derbyshire, were given this Salford Hundred land for their services to the lords of the manor. It is generally accepted that a Barlow Hall has existed on this slightly elevated site since the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) when Sir Robert de Barlow lived there and a water mill on the banks of the nearby River Mersey formed part of the estate. Robert de Barlow and his heirs remained at Barlow Hall for over 500 years until the death of Thomas Barlow in the 1770s. With renovations, extensions and the odd fire over the 800 years it is not known how much of the original hall is with us today. The North and West wings certainly date back to before the renovations made by Sir Alexander Barlow in 1574 (in the reign of Elizabeth I). These two wings are likely to have been the footprint of the original structure. The sundial on the North Wing is inscribed AD1574 and “Lumen me regit, vos umbra” (I am ruled by the sun, you by the shade). South and East Wings were added later to form an inner quadrangle which was entered from the North side. The East Wing became unsafe in the 1960s and was demolished.
The Barlow that the members remember most fondly and proudly is Edward who was born in the West Wing of the Hall in 1585 in the bedroom over the oriel window. He joined the Benedictine Order and was ordained as Father Ambrose in 1617. At this time the Roman Catholic Church was suppressed in England and Wales but he continued to minister to his Catholic parishioners around the County. Father Ambrose was arrested for his Catholic beliefs on the 25 April 1641. He was tried, found guilty and hung, drawn, quartered and boiled in oil in Lancaster on the 10 September that year. He was canonised as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales on the 25 October 1970. His Feast Day is held on the 10 September and there is a blue plaque outside Manchester Cathedral in recognition of his martyrdom.
No old house is complete without a ghost and Barlow Hall is supposed to have three! At least that is the case according to Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, a barrister, banker and politician who lived at Barlow Hall from 1840 to 1900. He described them to visiting members of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society who visited the Hall in the 1880s. One is a ghoul in yellow breeches who carries coals to the sitting room for the ladies (now the bar). Another is a lady with her head under her arm who seemed to spend her time in the kitchen and finally just a chill and the sound of feet heard walking three times round the upper floor hallways. It is the upper floor ghost that many members and staff have heard over the years and it is affectionately referred to as Ambrose.
We are very proud of our connection to St Ambrose and of our lovely clubhouse and its colourful history. We have a course to be proud of and a clubhouse that is warm, welcoming and hospitable – in spite of the ghosts!