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RESTORING THE MANSION and sensory garden FOR COMMUNITY USE
HISTORY
History of the Mansion
Buile Hill Mansion is a Grade II listed villa built between 1825 and 1827 in the Anglo‑Greek style for Thomas Potter, designed by the architect Charles Barry. Potter (1774–1845), a successful textile merchant, played a major role in Manchester’s civic life and became the city’s first mayor from 1838 to 1840, the year he was knighted by Queen Victoria. After his death, Lady Potter remained at Buile Hill, later joined by their son Thomas Bayley Potter, his wife Mary, and their five children.
In 1877, the estate was sold to John Marsland Bennet (d. 1889), a Manchester businessman, Alderman, and former Mayor of Manchester (1863–1865). The Bennet family placed the estate on the market in 1897, but it was not until 1903 that Salford Corporation purchased the house and grounds. The £20,000 purchase was funded through a Local Government Board loan, with an additional £7,000 allocated for conversion into a public park under the direction of park superintendent A. Wilsher. Local businessmen—including the Agnew family, Laurence Pilkington, and Sir William Mather—contributed a further £2,500. Buile Hill Park officially opened on 22 July 1903 and was later combined with Seedley Park following the closure of the dividing “Dog Entry” path.
Development of the Mansion and Park
In 1906, the former residence reopened as a natural history museum after significant internal alterations. Many of Charles Barry’s original interiors were removed during this conversion, although the house had already undergone several changes since the 1850s. These included the addition of a porte‑cochère (c.1860), an extra storey in 1879, and a conservatory on the western side. A later eastern wing was demolished due to dry rot. Further modifications continued throughout the twentieth century.
The surrounding park also evolved. A second bowling green was added in 1903, and five tennis courts opened in 1906 before being relocated in 1937 to make way for the Buile Hill Pavilion. The park hosted the Salford Pageant in 1930, celebrating the 700th anniversary of Salford’s charter, and in 1934, an 18‑hole pitch‑and‑putt course was created on 18.5 acres of the Hart Hill estate.
Buile Hill in Wartime and Beyond
During the First World War, the park housed an anti‑aircraft gun, and in the Second World War it became the site of a barrage balloon attachment and a depot for 800,000 sandbags. The park suffered bomb damage during the 1940 blitz. After refurbishment, it reopened to the public in 1948. Later additions included a garden for the blind (1963) and a pets’ corner (1972).
Buile Hill has welcomed many notable visitors, including artist L. S. Lowry and author Frances Hodgson Burnett, who worked on The Secret Garden during one of her visits. More importantly, generations of Salford residents have enjoyed the park’s green space, museum collections, concerts, and sports facilities—particularly during periods of intense industrialisation in the surrounding districts.
Recent History
From 1975 to 2000, the mansion housed the Lancashire Mining Museum, continuing a mining focus that began in the 1960s. In 2000, facing £13 million in budget cuts, Salford City Council closed the museum. Since then, the building has remained shut despite several proposals for reuse, including as a training centre, conference venue, and hotel. The park featured in the BBC series Manctopia, which highlighted the controversial planning application for housing.
The Mansion reopened to the public on Saturday, 21st March 2026.
Today, Buile Hill Park covers 68 acres and incorporates the former Seedley Park (1876), Buile Hill (1903), Springfield Villa (1927), and the Hart Hill estate (purchased in 1924). Further historical information about the area can be found at www.ecclesoldroad.uk