Tatton Hall

Last updated

Tatton Hall
Tatton Hall 2009-2.jpg
South face of Tatton Hall
Location Tatton Park, Cheshire, England
Coordinates 53°19′49″N2°23′01″W / 53.3304°N 2.3835°W / 53.3304; -2.3835
OS grid reference SJ 745 815
Builtc. 1716
Built forJohn Egerton
Rebuilt1770s–1810s
Architects Thomas Farnolls Pritchard
Samuel Wyatt
Lewis William Wyatt
G. H. Stokes
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical
Governing body National Trust
Cheshire East Council
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated5 March 1959
Reference no.1329670
Cheshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Cheshire

Tatton Hall is a country house in Tatton Park near Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It is designated as a Grade I listed building and is open to the public.

Contents

History

The original manor house in Tatton Park was Tatton Old Hall. [1] Around 1716 a new hall was built in a more elevated position on the site of the present mansion some 0.75 miles (1 km) to the west. This house was a rectangular block of seven bays with three storeys. [2] From 1758 the owner Samuel Egerton began to make improvements to the house, in particular a rococo interior to his drawing room (now the dining room), designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard. [3] [4]

During the 1770s Samuel Egerton commissioned Samuel Wyatt to design a house in Neoclassical style. Both Samuel Egerton and Samuel Wyatt died before the house was finished, and it was completed (1807–16), on a reduced scale, by Wilbraham Egerton and Lewis William Wyatt, Samuel Wyatt's nephew. [5] [6] Samuel Wyatt had planned a house of eleven bays, but Lewis reduced this to seven. [7] Wilbraham bought a number of fine paintings, and many items of furniture made by Gillows of Lancaster. [5]

In 1861–62 an upper floor was added to the family wing to a design by G. H. Stokes. [7] In 1884 a family entrance hall was added to the north face, and a smoking room to the extreme west of the family wing, [3] and electricity was installed in the hall. [5]

During the later part of the 19th century Wilbraham Egerton, 1st Earl Egerton, hosted large house parties in the hall. Eminent guests included the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1887, and at later dates the Shah of Persia and the Crown Prince of Siam. The last member of the Egerton family to live in the hall was Maurice Egerton. [5] He made a large collection of objects from around the world, some which are on display in the hall. [8] On his death in 1958 Maurice Egerton bequeathed the mansion and gardens to the National Trust. [5]

Exterior

The north face of Tatton Hall. Tatton Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1000685.jpg
The north face of Tatton Hall.

The main body of the hall and the family wing to the west, both in two storeys, are built in ashlar Runcorn sandstone with slate and lead roofs. The additions of 1884 (family entrance hall and smoking room) are faced in yellow terracotta. The south front of the hall has seven bays. At its centre is a large Corinthian portico with four monolithic columns. The north front is simpler in design, also with seven bays, and it has a pedimented porch with two columns. The east front has five bays with Corinthian pilasters on a slightly projecting plinth and an entablature above. The family wing has seven bays. The south front has a Tuscan colonnade on the lower storey and an Ionic colonnade, verandah and balustrade above. [3] [7]

Interior

Not all of the rooms are open to the public. The major rooms that are open are described below.

Hall

Ground floor

The Entrance Hall Tatton Park 2016 099.jpg
The Entrance Hall
The Dining Room Tatton Park 2016 135.jpg
The Dining Room
The Music Room Tatton Park 2016 107.jpg
The Music Room
The Main Staircase Tatton Park 2016 129.jpg
The Main Staircase
The Drawing Room Tatton Park 2016 111.jpg
The Drawing Room
The Library Tatton Park 2016 125.jpg
The Library

The Entrance Hall is in three bays. It is decorated in neoclassical style with a marble floor, red porphyry Ionic columns and a geometric coffered, tunnel vaulted ceiling. The furniture includes two late-17th-century Italian chests of drawers and a walnut chest dating from around 1730, and a 19th-century walnut table and chairs. On each side of a central niche are marble busts of the Duke of Wellington and William Pitt the Younger on columns. The largest painting in the entrance hall is The Cheshire Hunt, 1839 by Henry Calvert. [7] [9] To the west of the entrance hall is the Card Room (where calling cards were left – not for playing cards, as in other Card Rooms). This room has a neoclassical cornice and fireplace. A set of open arm chairs are English in the Adam style which date from around 1785. Other furniture dates from the 19th century in Louis XVI marquetry style. In a showcase is a rare silver filigree Horn Book. Paintings in the room include La Gouvernante by Chardin, The Head of an Old Man, 1639 by Abraham Bloemaert, A Farrier's by Philips Wouwerman, and Head of Nicodemus after Rogier van der Weyden. [3] [10]

On the other side of the Entrance Hall is the Music Room whose walls are decorated with cherry-coloured silk damask. Much of the furniture is in the French Boulle revival style (with brass inlays in the style of André Charles Boulle). An alcove was intended to be occupied by an organ but it contains a rosewood bookcase in boulle work. The circular table, couches and chairs are also in boulle style, made by Gillows. The fireplace is made from white marble and is decorated with images of musical instruments and motifs. Two vases on the mantelpiece are 19th-century Meissen. The harpsichord was made by Kirckman's and is dated 1789. The paintings include pieces by Gaspard Dughet, Aernout van der Neer, Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, and Guercino, and two still life paintings by Jan Davidszoon de Heem and Cornelis de Heem. [11] To the south of the music room is the Drawing Room which is decorated in a similar style. The ceiling is gilded and coffered and is decorated with rosettes. Together with its elaborate furniture it is the "most impressive and ostentatious room in the house". [12] The paintings include two views of Venice by Canaletto, The Sacrifice of Noah by Poussin, The Martyrdom of St. Stephen by Van Dyck, and paintings by Annibale Carracci and Giovanni Battista Cimaroli. A full-length portrait of Samuel Egerton is by Bartolomeo Nazari. [13]

Behind the portico on the south front of the house is the Library. The furniture in this room is practical rather than decorative, most of it again having been made by Gillows. The bookcases date from 1811 to 1812. The pair of globes, terrestrial and celestial, were made by the Cary family. On top of the bookcases are Dutch Delft vases and jars from the 17th–18th centuries. The room contains over 8,000 books, many in their original covers and in mint condition. The earliest book is dated 1513. Some of the books are unbound and in their original paper covers, including first editions of two novels by Jane Austen. Other than a portrait of Charles II, all the paintings in the library are portraits of members of the Egerton family. [14] To the west of the Library is the Dining Room. This is a survival from the original house and is decorated in rococo style designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard. The white marble fireplace dates from 1840 and was designed by Richard Westmacott. Most of the furniture in the room is made in mahogany by Gillows. The paintings in the room are all portraits of the Egerton family. [15]

In the centre of the building are the main stairs. These rise from the Staircase Hall which is lit by a domed oval skylight. To east of this hall, through two pairs of marble columns, is the Cupola Hall. On its floor is an Axminster carpet with an unusual design showing celestial objects and the signs of the Zodiac for the winter months. The halls contain English furniture in Adam style and items of oriental ceramics. [16]

Upper floor

The walls of the Upper Landing Tatton Park 2016 170.jpg
The walls of the Upper Landing

On the walls of the upper landing are ten full-length portraits known as The Cheshire Gentlemen. They portray ten of the leading gentlemen of the county who met together at Ashley Hall to decide whether to support King George I or James Stuart in the Jacobite rising of 1715. They decided to support the king, which probably saved their lives and their estates. [17]

The bedrooms are named mainly after the type or colour of the original drapery. All the bedrooms, except the Lemon Room, have adjoining dressing rooms. The furniture in all the rooms was supplied by Gillows. [18] The Silk Bedroom is above the Entrance Hall and was one of the principal guest rooms. It contains furniture of mahogany inlaid with ebony. The bed is a cut-down four poster bed. The Silk Dressing Room contains a large tin bath on castors. [19] The other bedrooms are the Chintz Bedroom, which is furnished as a sitting room, the Lemon Bedroom, and the Amber Bedroom, which is furnished as a Victorian day nursery. Most of the paintings in the bedrooms depict family members. [20] The Egerton Room was originally the Blue Bedroom but, with its dressing room, is now used for an exhibition about the Egerton family. In addition to family portraits, the paintings in these rooms include schemes for the design of the house by the architects, and paintings of architectural features by J. C. Buckler. There are also three paintings of excavations for the Manchester Ship Canal by Benjamin Williams Leader. [21] Wilbraham Egerton, 1st Earl Egerton was the second chairman of the Manchester Ship Canal Company from 1887 to 1894. The dressing room includes paintings by Vasari and Tosini. [22]

Family wing

The Kitchen Tatton Park 2016 197.jpg
The Kitchen

Entering the family wing from the hall, the first room on the left, beyond the garden entrance, is the Yellow Drawing Room. This has a more intimate atmosphere and contains a collection of satinwood furniture made by Gillows. This includes a bookcase dated 1795 and a pair of cabinets on each side of the fireplace. The paintings are family portraits. [23] Opposite this room is the Family Entrance and opposite the garden entrance is the Oak Staircase which was moved here from Hough End Hall. [24] The Servants' Quarters occupy two floors, the ground floor and basement. These contain the usual rooms required to service a mansion and many of these are furnished with the equipment and utensils formerly in use in the house. One room, known as the Maurice Egerton Exhibition Room, houses a collection of items from around the world which were collected by Maurice Egerton on his travels. [25]

Cellar

Tatton Park 2016 181.jpg
Tatton Park 2016 182.jpg
Tatton Park 2016 184.jpg
Decauville railway in the cellar of Tatton Hall

In the basement of Tatton Hall is a 400 mm gauge coal railway supplied by Decauville. It was used to transport coal to the boilers of the heating system. The railway may date from the time of the 1884 conversion, when an entrance hall was added to the north side and a smoking room to the west side. [26]

Present day

Tatton Hall was designated as a Grade I listed building on 5 March 1959. [3] The hall is financed on behalf of the National Trust by Cheshire East Council. [27] The house is open to the public at advertised times. [28] [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyme Park</span> Grade I listed building in Cheshire East, UK

Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Cheshire, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawsworth Old Hall</span> Historic house museum in Cheshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilton House</span> Historic house and museum in Wilton, UK

Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII presented Wilton Abbey and its attached estates to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. The house has literary associations. Shakespeare's theatre company performed there, and there was an important literary salon culture under its occupation by Mary Sidney, wife of the second Earl.

Baron Egerton, of Tatton in the County Palatine of Chester, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 15 April 1859 for William Egerton (1806–1883), a politician from the Egerton family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabley House</span> Country house in Tabley Inferior, Cheshire, England

Tabley House is an English country house in Tabley Inferior, some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the west of the town of Knutsford, Cheshire. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It was built between 1761 and 1769 for Sir Peter Byrne Leicester, to replace the nearby Tabley Old Hall, and was designed by John Carr. The Tabley House Collection exists as an exhibition showcased by the University of Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Coole</span> Historic mansion in Northern Ireland

Castle Coole is a townland and a late-18th-century neo-classical mansion situated in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Set in a 1,200-acre (490 ha) wooded estate, it is one of three properties owned and managed by the National Trust in County Fermanagh, the others being Florence Court and the Crom Estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaton Park</span> Public park in Manchester, England

Heaton Park is a public park in Manchester, England, covering an area of over 600 acres (242.8 ha). The park includes the grounds of a Grade I listed, neoclassical 18th century country house, Heaton Hall. The hall, remodelled by James Wyatt in 1772, is now only open to the public on an occasional basis as a museum and events venue. It is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, and also the largest municipal park in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capesthorne Hall</span> Manor in Cheshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatton Park</span> Historic estate in Cheshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arley Hall</span> Country house in Cheshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorfold Hall</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Dorfold Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion in Acton, Cheshire, England, considered by Nikolaus Pevsner to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in the county. The present owners are the Roundells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peover Hall</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatton Park Gardens</span> Gardens in Cheshire, England

Tatton Park Gardens consist of formal and informal gardens in Tatton Park to the south of Tatton Hall, Cheshire, England. Included in the gardens are an Italian garden, a walled garden, a rose garden, and the Japanese garden. The buildings in the garden are the Conservatory, the Fernery and the Showhouse. The gardens are owned by the National Trust and administered by Cheshire East Council. They are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and have been designated at Grade II*. The gardens are open to the public at advertised times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rode Hall</span> English country house in Cheshire, UK

Rode Hall, a Georgian country house, is the seat of the Wilbraham family, members of the landed gentry in the parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, England. The estate, with the original timber-framed manor house, was purchased by the Wilbrahams from the ancient Rode family in 1669. The medieval manor house was replaced between 1700 and 1708 by a brick-built seven-bay building; a second building, with five bays, was built in 1752; the two buildings being joined in 1800 to form the present Rode Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilbraham Egerton (MP for Cheshire)</span> British landowner and politician, 1781–1856

Wilbraham Egerton was a British landowner and Member of Parliament from the Egerton family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Egerton</span> British politician

William Egerton was an English politician and a member of the Egerton family.

Tatton is a former civil parish in Cheshire East, England. It contained 26 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 major building in the parish was Tatton Hall, and all the listed buildings in the parish are related to it. These include the hall itself, Tatton Old Hall, the Home Farm, structures in the gardens and park, and lodges at the entrances to Tatton Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillows of Lancaster and London</span>

Gillows of Lancaster and London, also known as Gillow & Co., was an English furniture making firm based in Lancaster, Lancashire, and in London. It was founded around in Lancaster in about 1730 by Robert Gillow (1704–1772).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atatürk Museum Mansion</span> House museum in Çankaya District, Ankara

Atatürk Museum Mansion is a historic house museum in Ankara, Turkey. It was the residence of President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk between 1921 and 1932, during the early years of the Republic. The museum is situated on Çankaya St. within the Çankaya Campus. It is situated right beside the Çankaya Mansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace of Albéniz</span> Official residence of the Spanish royal family in Catalonia, Spain

The Palace of Albéniz, formerly known as the Royal Pavilion of Montjuic, is a palace located on the Montjuïc mountain, in Barcelona, Spain, that currently serves as the official residence of the Spanish royal family in the region.

References

Citations

  1. The History of the Old Hall, Tatton Park, archived from the original on 27 February 2013, retrieved 9 September 2012
  2. McKean 1998, p. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic England, "Tatton Hall (1329670)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 6 July 2014
  4. Colvin, s.v. "Pritchard, Thomas Farnolls".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 The History of the Mansion, Tatton Park, retrieved 9 September 2012
  6. Colvin, s.v. "Wyatt, Lewis William"
  7. 1 2 3 4 Hartwell et al. 2011, pp. 627–629.
  8. Mansion Exhibitions, Tatton Park, retrieved 9 September 2012
  9. McKean 1998, pp. 16–18.
  10. McKean 1998, pp. 13–15.
  11. McKean 1998, pp. 19–22.
  12. McKean 1998, p. 25.
  13. McKean 1998, pp. 23–26.
  14. McKean 1998, pp. 27–31.
  15. McKean 1998, pp. 32–36.
  16. McKean 1998, pp. 40–43.
  17. McKean 1998, p. 42.
  18. McKean 1998, p. 45.
  19. McKean 1998, pp. 46–48.
  20. McKean 1998, pp. 49–54.
  21. McKean 1998, pp. 55–57.
  22. McKean 1998, pp. 58–59.
  23. McKean 1998, pp. 37–38.
  24. McKean 1998, pp. 60–61.
  25. McKean 1998, pp. 63–75.
  26. Historic England: Tatton Hall (1329670), National Heritage List for England.
  27. About Tatton Park, Tatton Park, retrieved 9 September 2012
  28. Tatton Park Opening Times and Entrance Prices, Tatton Park, retrieved 9 September 2012
  29. Opening times, National Trust, retrieved 9 September 2012

Sources