Denzell House was built in 1874 for Robert Scott, a wealthy businessman associated with the textile firm Tootal Broadhurst Lee.[1] Scott purchased 10 acres (4ha) of land from the seventh Earl of Stamford for £7,075 and commissioned Manchester architects Clegg & Knowles to design the property.[2] The house cost approximately £18,000 to build, with an additional £12,000 for fittings. It was intended for Scott's son, Henry, who died—possibly during the Zulu Wars—before occupying the house.[2]
After Scott's death in 1904, the property was acquired by Samuel Lamb, a wealthy shipper. Under Lamb's ownership, the gardens flourished, featuring glasshouses that produced peaches, orchids, and vines. These greenhouses remained in use until the mid-1970s, supplying plants for local parks and flowers for civic occasions.[2]
Over the years, Denzell House served a variety of roles. In 1938 it was used as a Whitsuntide weekend school, providing educational and recreational activities during the holiday period.[2] During the Second World War, the house became an annexe to Altrincham General Hospital, functioning as a maternity home to support the increased demand for healthcare services during wartime.[4] In the post-war years, Denzell House continued to be used by the health authority until 1989, when it was sold on a long lease and converted into offices.[1]
On 12 July 1985, Denzell House was designated a Grade II* listed building for its architectural and historic significance.[3]
The entrance gates, lodge, clock tower, and the archway to the stable yard were demolished at an unknown date.[3]
Today, Denzell House remains a prominent heritage building within Denzell Gardens, a public park that preserves part of the original estate.[5] The house is primarily used for office space.[4]
Architecture
The porte-cochère at Denzell House
Denzell House has an eclectic mix of Jacobean, Gothic, and Italianate styles. The architectural critic Pevsner described it as luscious but "really very bad".[6] Features include a stone plinth, ashlarquoins, first-floor and eaves bands, multiple gables, Tudor-style chimneys, and steeply pitched roofs with crested ridge tiles.[1] The entrance façade is dominated by an asymmetrical porte-cochère with semi-circular arches, quatrefoil tracery, modillion eaves, and a parapet with cartouches and finials. Above is a mullioned and transomed window, a dated cartouche (1874), and an ornate gable flanked by chimneys.[4]
The south-west garden elevation has five bays with shaped gables to bays 1 and 5, bay windows, mullioned and transomed windows, and pierced parapets. Bays 2 and 3 feature semi-circular two-storey bays; bay 4 has an elaborate oriel with traceried lights, triangular pediments, and a conical roof rising to a spire. A recessed conservatory on the south-east replaces the original timber structure but retains the stone plinth.[1]
The north-east elevation has four bays with shaped gables, mullioned windows, and a two-storey canted bay. A contemporary gateway and screen wall of rock-faced stone with buttresses adjoins the west side.[4]
Interior
Internally, the house features a wide spine corridor with Tudor-arched doors and decorative tracery screens. The entrance vestibule has encaustic tile flooring and a carved timber screen with leaded and painted glass.[3] The entrance hall includes carved wooden dado panelling, a coffered ceiling, and an ornate fireplace with a crocketed hood and hunting scene.[1] Reception rooms display elaborate timber panelling, coffered ceilings, and marble fireplaces, some with painted or gilded overmantels and stained glass. The billiard room has a painted ceiling depicting games and a carved stone fireplace. The main staircase, framed by a Tudor arch, is richly carved and lit by an oriel window with stained glass of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Bacon.[1] The first-floor corridor has a coffered ceiling, glazed lanterns, and decorative chimneypieces, with rooms featuring marble fireplaces, moulded cornices, and stained glass. A secondary staircase leads to former servants' quarters, which retain original fireplaces.[3]
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