"It's my destiny": The Kentucky man who believes he's descended from an historic Manchester family with plans for our oldest building

An American man says he has put forward a proposal to buy the up-for-sale Baguley Hall — believing it’s ‘my destiny to do this’.

Hurstel Edward Begley, who believes he is a descendant of the Baguley family, has posted the video to YouTube outlining his ambitions for the grade-I-listed building, which is thought to be at least 700 years old. It has been listed for sale by Historic England, on the condition that it ‘requires that the public is able to access the building at least occasionally’ and the new buyer ‘restores and operates the building in a sympathetic way’.

That sparked the Friends of Baguley Hall group to form a committee to ‘save it from unscrupulous developers’, according to chair Mathew Hopkins, 57. They are worried the heritage of the ‘unique building’ could be lost.

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“If you go inside and look how its structured and how the timber frame is put together, it’s nationally and internationally important,” chartered building surveyor and committee member Matthew Williams said in explaining its value. “It’s a plank construction rather than a box construction. These are bigger sections and the pattern is different to a normal timber frame mediaeval building. That’s why it’s grade-I listed.”

Now, as Historic England has reportedly extended the window for potential buyers to throw their hat in the ring, one has come from Kentucky. Hurstel Edward Begley posted a video to his YouTube channel, Tattoo Billy Band, explaining why he was so interested.

He told viewers: “I am throwing my hat [in], and something I think I am destined to have through my bloodline, and that’s Baguley Hall.

“I have submitted