WITH Mere Hall featuring in the news recently, it is no surprise that our readers have memories to tell of this impressive old building.

Soon weddings will no longer take place at Mere Hall and ceremonies will be conducted at Bolton Town Hall instead.

We thought many people would be interested to find out more about the building and its surrounding land and its history is fascinating.

But what many people may not realise is that during the Second World War — in the early 1940s — the basement of the building was used as an air raid shelter.

“We went there when the sirens sounded,” explains Ron Taylor, who now lives in Australia.

Ron wonders just how many “older people” in Bolton have similar memories and we would love to hear those memories, too.

Marriages will no longer take place at Mere Hall as council relocates registrars service

GALLERY: Your weddings at Mere Hall in Bolton

The story of Mere Hall starts in the early part of the 19th century and has been researched by Barrie Parker, of Halliwell Local History Society.

The land was originally owned by two sisters, Elizabeth and Sarah Nuttall.

The estate covered a large area and included one large house and some cottages in fields.

This was a time when Bolton looked nothing like it does today of course. This particular part of town was in the countryside on a hill over looking Bolton.

In about 1836, Benjamin Dobson, nephew of Isaac Dobson, who founded the textile manufacturing firm Dobson and Barlow, bought the estate.

He had Mere Hall built and turned the surrounding area into landscaped gardens. The area had been known as Mere Hill but became Mere Hall.

The need for housing encroached upon the estate as Bolton developed into an industrial centre and streets were built reducing the size of the estate.

If you have photographs from your wedding and/ or memories of the hall and the area, contact Gayle McBain on 01204 537269 or email gayle.mcbain@nqnw.co.uk