The original owner was obliged to sell the hall in the early 1840s and it was acquired by Edmund Wright (1781-1852) as his residence. It was then named Leegate Hall but Wright renamed it Heaton Hall; since there was also a Heaton Hall at Prestwich he renamed it again as Mauldeth Hall. On the death of Edmund Wright in 1852 the hall was acquired by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners as the residence of the first Bishop of Manchester. The bishop was James Prince Lee, bishop since 1848, who lived in the hall until his death in 1869. In 1915 the Hospital for Incurables at Mauldeth Hall and Walmersley House had accommodation for 125 inpatients.