William Hulme’s Survey

A survey of part of the buildings and lands bequeathed by William Hulme 1753

This fascinating plan, which remained unidentified until 1992, shows Withingreave Hall, one of William Hulme’s homes, and the land around it in what is now Withy Grove and Shudehill. It is one of very few manuscript plans of Manchester of that date and shows what the area looked like before redevelopment during the Industrial Revolution.

William Hulme (1631-91) bequeathed part of his estate to enable four boys from poor families to go to Brasenose College, Oxford. The original income from the lands in Manchester, Denton, Ashton-under-Lyne, Reddish and Harwood was sixty-four pounds. However, the Hulme Trust has grown considerably since its original foundation, and has provided funds for schools in Manchester, Oldham and Bury, for a Hall of Residence (Hulme Hall) at the University of Manchester, and for twenty students to go to Brasenose College. The deeds of the Hulme Trust have been deposited at Chetham’s Library at regular intervals since the end of the nineteenth century.