Home schooling
Situated right next to the mill, Quarry Bank House is a sophisticated example of a late 18th-century villa. Construction began in 1796 for Samuel Greg and his wife Hannah. When Samuel first built the mill at Quarry Bank, the family home was at 35 King Street in Manchester. He would bring his family to Styal for the summer months, leasing Oak Farm in Styal village.
Escaping from town to the rural idyll of Styal was one of Hannah Greg’s great pleasures. As the Industrial Revolution progressed, King Street became increasingly commercial. It was busy, noisy and hectic. By 1798 , with six small children, Samuel decided to build a house especially for the family’s use during the summer. Hannah expressed her relief in a letter to a friend.
“I look forward to living less in town (which of late has become almost unsupportable by me) as Mr G seems to intend seriously building three or four rooms in the country this year – which will enable me to keep my family together about me at least all summer.”
Hannah came to see Quarry Bank House as a sanctuary where they could discuss ideas and enjoy life together.
When Quarry Bank House was first built, it was a relatively modest dwelling, comprising of only a few rooms for the family and a small service wing. By the 1800s the family were spending more time at the house. In order to make it a more comfortable and practical residence the house was remodelled. Double its original size, it now contained a large drawing room, an entrance hall and an office.
Although built next to the mill buildings its location was not seen as a disadvantage. Early mill owners took pride in their acheivemnets and lived close-by, keeping an eye on business. Though loud, water power was not as noisy or dirty as the later coal-powered mills. The Gregs considered the mill to enhance the setting of their house and arranged the garden to frame it in picturesque views.
Religious world of Gregs
The Gregs followed the Unitarian Church, which encouraged questioning and advocated scientific thought. Unitarians thought it was important to discuss intellectual, social and moral ideas, and life at Quarry Bank revolved around this ideal.
Samuel was a member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Hannah had been brought up to be intellectually liberal, but as a woman was not permitted to join the society. She took pains to create an atmosphere of learning and debate, and Quarry Bank House became a place where a circle of like-minded people could join together to debate and discuss a range of issues in an atmosphere of informality, hospitality and friendliness.
Hannah believed strongly the ‘good company’ was ‘the best supplement to education’. Amongst those who visited Quarry Bank were the noted chemist William Henry; the influential Unitarian minister John James Tayler; the American naturalist and painter John James Audubon; and eminent geologist Professor John Playfair.
The Gregs wanted their children to be intelligent and well informed. Hannah continued educating them at home during the holidays and, in 1811, she created the ‘Duodecimo Society’ – a literary and philosophical society for them to take part in. they were required to present papers covering such subjects as literary criticism, religion, and contemporary society. Hannah showed some concern for the moral wellbeing of the apprentices at Quarry Bank. Overseeing their religious instruction, she wrote sermons that had humility or deference to an all-seeing, all-powerful God as their central message.