In the early 18th century the Oulton Estate was home to the Egerton family and comprised a manor house and a formal garden surrounded by farmland in Cheshire, England. Later in the century the farmland was converted into a park. The estate is now the site of the motor racing track called Oulton Park.
In 1731, Philip Egerton (1694–1766) inherited the estate upon the death of his uncle, John Egerton (1656–1731). At that time the estate comprised a house, a formal garden and farmland totalling 231 acres (0.93 km2). [1] Around 1752, Philip Egerton began to construct a brick wall to enclose the estate plus some additional fields, an area totalling 315 acres (1.27 km2). [2] At his death in 1766, Philip was succeeded by his brother John, and then in 1770, by his son Philip (1738–1786). By this time the fashion for formal gardens had been overtaken by the concept of a landscaped garden with surrounding parkland. Philip Egerton commissioned William Emes to plan this for his estate. [3] Emes' plan was produced about 1770, but the work was still in progress 10 years later. [4] The plan was to do away with the formal garden, to divert the brook and, by building dams, to create two lakes connected by a cascade. A banqueting hall was to be built on an island in the larger lake. There was to be extensive planting of trees and shrubs. The park was to include a bowling green, gravel paths and a boathouse. [5]
In 1715, John Egerton commissioned the building of the new house. Tradition has it that the previous Tudor house had been destroyed by fire. [6] The new house was in Baroque style. Its main front was in 15 bays, the middle three bays being occupied by a Corinthian centrepiece, its pediment filled with carvings of trophies. A drawing exists showing a central dome, but if this dome in fact ever existed, it did not survive to the 19th century. On the sides were curved pediments. The entrance hall rose through the building's two storeys. It contained Corinthian pilasters and had a plaster groined vault. [7] Around 1773, the gates and gate piers which had been built around 1725 were removed to St Oswald's Church, Malpas. They were replaced by an entrance lodge comprising an arch with screen walls designed by Joseph Turner. In 1786, the house was inherited by John Egerton (1766–1825). He and his successors did carry out some improvements during the 19th century. [8] Between about 1816 and 1820, Lewis Wyatt altered the interior and added stables and a terrace. In 1926, the house was destroyed by fire, [7] and in 1940, it was bombed. [9]
The grounds are now used as a motor racing circuit. [10] Some buildings that were part of the estate still exist. The entrance gates, lodges and screen designed by Joseph Turner in about 1775 are designated as a Grade II* listed building. [11] In the grounds is a monument of 1846 to the memory of John Francis Egerton of the Bengal Horse Regiment, designed by Scott and Moffatt. [7] It is also a Grade II* listed building. [12] The stable block designed by Lewis Wyatt is still present and is listed at Grade II. [13] A farm building close to the stable block is also listed at Grade II. [14]
Gawsworth Old Hall is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It is a timber-framed house in the Cheshire black-and-white style. The present house was built between 1480 and 1600, replacing an earlier Norman house. It was probably built as a courtyard house enclosing a quadrangle, but much of it has been demolished, leaving the house with a U-shaped plan.
Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about 10,872 acres (4,400 ha).
Capesthorne Hall is a country house near the village of Siddington, Cheshire, England. The house and its private chapel were built in the early 18th century, replacing an earlier hall and chapel nearby. They were built to Neoclassical designs by William Smith and (probably) his son Francis. Later in the 18th century, the house was extended by the addition of an orangery and a drawing room. In the 1830s the house was remodelled by Edward Blore; the work included the addition of an extension and a frontage in Jacobean style, and joining the central block to the service wings. In about 1837 the orangery was replaced by a large conservatory designed by Joseph Paxton. In 1861 the main part of the house was virtually destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt by Anthony Salvin, who generally followed Blore's designs but made modifications to the front, rebuilt the back of the house in Jacobean style, and altered the interior. There were further alterations later in the 19th century, including remodelling of the Saloon. During the Second World War the hall was used by the Red Cross, but subsequent deterioration prompted a restoration.
Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall; a medieval manor house, Tatton Old Hall; Tatton Park Gardens, a farm and a deer park of 2,000 acres (8.1 km2). It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over a hundred events annually. The estate is owned by the National Trust and is managed under lease by Cheshire East Council. Since 1999, it has hosted North West England's annual Royal Horticultural Society flower show.
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Lymm and 5 miles (8 km) north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook, and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall are also listed as Grade II* on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In the grounds are more listed buildings, a cruck barn being listed as Grade I, and the other buildings as Grade II.
Cholmondeley Castle is a country house in the civil parish of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England. Together with its adjacent formal gardens, it is surrounded by parkland. The site of the house has been a seat of the Cholmondeley family since the 12th century. The present house replaced a timber-framed hall nearby. It was built at the start of the 19th century for George Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley, who designed most of it himself in the form of a crenellated castle. After the death of the Marquess, the house was extended to designs by Robert Smirke to produce the building in its present form. The house is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.
Crewe Hall is a Jacobean mansion located near Crewe Green, east of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. Described by Nikolaus Pevsner as one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire, it is listed at grade I. Built in 1615–36 for Sir Randolph Crewe, it was one of the county's largest houses in the 17th century, and was said to have "brought London into Cheshire".
Broxton Old Hall is in Old Coach Road 0.5 miles (1 km) west of the village of Brown Knowl, in the civil parish of Broxton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
Peover Hall is a country house in the civil parish of Peover Superior, commonly known as Over Peover, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Belmont Hall is a country house one mile (1.6 km) to the northwest of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The house stands to the north of the A559 road. Since 1977 it has been occupied by Cransley School.
Ashley Hall is a country house standing to the north of the village of Ashley, Cheshire, England. It dates from the late 16th to the early 17th century, with additions made in the 18th and 19th centuries. The house is historically important because it was here that the Cheshire gentlemen met in 1715 to decide whether to support the Stuarts or the Hanoverians. They decided on the latter and later commissioned a set of portraits, which now hang in Tatton Hall. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. Also listed at Grade II are the gate piers to the forecourt of the building, a carriage house in the forecourt, the kitchen garden wall, and the stable block. For the 2019 biopic Tolkien, 15 acres of the Tatton Estate were used to recreate the trenches of the First World War.
Bostock Hall is a country house to the northeast of Winsford, Cheshire, England. A former Georgian house, it was rebuilt in 1775 for Edward Tomkinson. It is thought that the architect was Samuel Wyatt.
Little Budworth is a civil parish in Cheshire West and Chester, England. It contains 18 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, four are listed at Grade II*, and the others at Grade II. Other than the village of Little Budworth, the parish is completely rural, and this is reflected in its listed buildings. These are all domestic or related to farming, other than the village church, a memorial, the entrance gates to the former Oulton Park House, a pinfold, and the plague stone.
Bostock is a civil parish in Cheshire West and Chester, England. It contains 14 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. The parish is entirely rural, and incorporates the settlement of Bostock Green, and the country house Bostock Hall. The hall is listed at Grade II*, the other buildings being at Grade II. The list includes the hall and its associated buildings, a farmhouse, a house in Bostock Green, and a milepost.
There are over 20,000 Grade II* listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester.
Cholmondeley is a civil parish in Cheshire East, England. It contains 24 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest grade, two are listed at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II. The parish is dominated by Cholmondeley Castle, its gardens and its estate. In addition to the castle itself, almost all the listed buildings are related to it, or are nearby farm buildings.
The Monument to Captain John Francis Egerton stands in the grounds of the Oulton Estate, Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. John Francis Egerton died in 1846 as the result of injuries sustained in the First Anglo-Sikh War. The memorial was designed by George Gilbert Scott and William Bonython Moffatt, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Peover Superior is a former civil parish in Cheshire East, England. It contained 29 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, two are listed at Grade I, the highest grade, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II. The parish was mainly rural, and most of the listed buildings are houses of various sizes, farmhouses, cottages, and associated structures. The other listed buildings include a church with associated structures, a former water mill, a railway viaduct, and a mile post.
Toft is a civil parish in Cheshire East, England. It contains eight buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II. The major building in the parish is Toft Hall; this, its stable block and a bridge on the approach road are listed. The rest of the parish is rural, and the other listed buildings are houses, a church and a milepost.
Dawpool was a country house in the village of Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It was built for the shipowner Thomas Henry Ismay in 1882–86 and designed by Richard Norman Shaw. Ismay died in 1899, the family moved out of the house in 1907, and it was demolished in 1927. Parts of the house were re-used in other buildings. Two buildings associated with the house, a lodge and the stables, have survived and are listed buildings.
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