Bolton is indeed fortunate as also on the northern side of the town is Hall-i'-th'-Wood its second splendid half timbered house. Dating back to the late 15th century the house was extended i stone in 1591 and again in 1648 by its then owner, Alexander Norris, a prominent Puritan. A fine example of a wealthy merchant's house it was saved from dereliction by Lord Leverhulme in 1900 and it has been restored and furnished with displays of fine furniture and interesting items of local importance. However the hall has a second claim to fame as, for a number of years, Samuel Crompton was one of several tenants here. The inventor in 1799 of the spinning mule, Crompton's machine was an important factor in the industrialization of the country's textile industry. Naturally the hall too has a replica of Crompton's mule on display.

The centre of Bolton is a lasting tribute to the wealth and prosperity generated by the spinning of high quality yarn for which the town was famous. Crompton's spinning mule pictured above.

The town hall opened in 1873 is typical of the classical style of buildings that the Victorian town fathers had built. The hall is still the town's central point and it is now surrounded by the recently refurbished pedestrainised shopping malls, market hall and the celebrated Octagon Theatre. The town's excellent Museum and Art Gallery is also we worth a visit as not only are there collections of natural history, geology and Egyptian antiques here but also some fine 18th and 19th century English water colours and some contemporary British paintings and graphics.