Gawsworth Old Hall

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Coordinates: 53°13′26″N 2°09′50″W / 53.2238°N 2.1638°W / 53.2238; -2.1638
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Gawsworth Old Hall
OS grid reference
SJ 891 696
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated25 July 1952
Reference no.1139500
Gawsworth Old Hall is located in Cheshire
Gawsworth Old Hall
Location in Cheshire

Gawsworth Old Hall is a Grade I

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.

Notable residents have included

a celebrated duel
, in which both the combatants were killed.

The hall is surrounded by formal gardens and parkland, which once comprised an Elizabethan pleasure garden and, possibly, a tilting ground for jousting. The grounds are listed Grade II*, and contain four Grade II listed buildings, including the gatehouse, gatepiers, and garden walls. The hall and grounds are open to the public at advertised times, and events are organised. During the summer months a series of concerts and other entertainment is arranged in an open-air theatre near the hall.

History

The original house on the site dated from the Norman era.[1] The earliest documentary reference is the granting of a licence for the administration of a chapel within the house in 1365. The house was then owned by Thomas Fitton, who had inherited it by marriage in 1316, and it remained in the possession of the Fitton family until 1611. The original house was replaced in the 15th and 16th centuries.[2] Building started in 1480,[1] and continued in stages until about 1600. Since then, parts of the house have been demolished, and others have been considerably altered. It is considered by the architectural historians Peter de Figueiredo and Julian Treuherz that the site of the house was originally moated, and that its plan was that of a quadrangle, forming a courtyard house.[2]

In 1579 the house was inherited by

Lord Mohun, from the Gerard family, and the 4th Duke of Hamilton, from the Fittons. Both of the combatants were killed. The estate remained with the Gerards, until it was bought by William Stanhope, who later became the first Earl of Harrington, and it remained with this family until 1935. The house was owned by the Cheshire antiquary Raymond Richards until his death in 1978. Richards collected items from historic buildings that were being demolished in the 1960s, either incorporating them into the house or displaying them in the grounds.[2] The house is still owned and run by the Richards family.[4]

Architecture

Exterior and plan

Gawsworth Old Hall is a timber-framed house in the Cheshire black-and-white tradition,

Great Hall, and was open to the roof, but is now divided into two floors. To the east of the range extend the kitchen and the chapel. The Dining Room leads into a room now known as the Green Room, which is canted ten degrees to the east. This was also originally open to the roof, but was not a great hall. De Figueiredo and Treuherz are of the opinion that this was originally a larger, separate structure, probably a barn, and incorporated into the main building when the east range was built. Little of the south range remains. It originally contained domestic apartments, which formerly extended to join the now-demolished west range. In the angle between the Dining Room and what remains of the south range is the Drawing Room. The special feature of this room is a canted bay window on the north side, extending upwards for three storeys. The only dated item in the building is the Fitton coat of arms on the north front, which was carved by Richard Rany in 1570.[2]

Interior

Many of the original features have been lost as a consequence of the many changes that have taken place over the centuries. Additional features have been added to the interior by Raymond Richards, such as the doorcase around the entrance.

Plas Newydd in Llangollen that were originally in a medieval church.[9] Adjacent to the chapel is a conservatory containing marble sculptures by John Warrington Wood.[2]

To the south of the Long Hall is the Dining Room, which is little changed since the Tudor era. Its contents include a 16th-century

escritoire from about 1650, and items of Wedgwood majolica ware made in about 1830.[10] The Dining Room leads to the small Guard Room, which contains two 17th-century chairs and an 18th-century blunderbuss. To the west of this is the Drawing Room, the principal living room of the hall, which has been little altered since the middle of the 16th century.[11] To the south of the Drawing Room is a small room known as the Gold Room. This room has retained a frieze dating from the early 16th century, including carvings of Tudor roses, flowers and birds. Also in the room is a bust of Charles Gerard. In the southeast corner of the hall is the Green Room. This contains a painting of Gawsworth Rectory by Charles Tattershall Dodd, and a complete set of a dinner service by Minton, comprising 120 pieces.[12]

A staircase from the east of the Guard Room leads to the Gallery on the upper floor, to the south side of which is the Solar, containing a 16th-century four-poster bed known as the Boswell bed. It was formerly in Lympne Castle, Kent.[13] The house's principal bedroom is the Hall Room, much of which has survived from the early 16th century. It contains a four-poster bed from the era of William and Mary and a portrait by Zuccaro of members of the Fitton family, which was formerly in Brereton Hall.[14] A room next to the Hall Room has been converted into a modern bathroom, next to which is Mary Fitton's Bedroom, which contains an old plaster frieze. The other rooms on floor are the French Room, containing an 18th-century French bed, and a small bedroom known as the Griffin Room.[15] Adjacent to this is the Billiard Room, which has exposed roof timbers. As well as the billiard table, the room contains a marble sculpture of Echo by Alfred Gatley and a bust of John Milton.[16]

Grounds

Gawsworth Old Hall from the north

Gardens

Associated with the house is an inner garden of about 30 acres (12 ha) surrounded by a parkland of about 600 acres (240 ha);

Second World War. To the west of the hall a wooded area known as the Rookery contains mature lime trees.[19] Limited excavation work carried out in 1989–90 discovered, inter alia, a filled-in canal running north–south down the centre of the garden.[19][21] The excavations provided "a tremendous insight into the past, although not enough to date it with certainty".[19] To the north of the hall are four fish ponds.[18]

Structures

Four structures in the grounds around the hall are recorded in the

plinth. Adjacent to it is another inscribed stone slab, dating from the 19th century.[26]

Present day

Gawsworth Old Hall is south of the village of Gawsworth, 3 miles (5 km) southeast of

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[28] Designation as Grade II* means that the site is "particularly important, of more than special interest".[29]

The hall is open to the general public at advertised times.[4] A series of events is held in the grounds and in the hall during the year.[30] There is a licensed tea room in the grounds,[31] and the hall is also licensed for civil weddings. Ceremonies are conducted in the Long Hall, and receptions can be held in a marquee in the grounds.[32] During the summer months plays, concerts and other entertainments take place in the open-air theatre close to the hall.[33]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c A Brief History of Gawsworth Hall, Gawsworth Hall, archived from the original on 11 July 2011, retrieved 22 February 2011
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k de Figueiredo & Treuherz 1988, pp. 99–102.
  3. ^ The Baronetage of England, Ireland, Nova Scotia, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Leigh Rayment, archived from the original on 1 May 2008, retrieved 22 February 2011{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ a b Welcome to Gawsworth Hall, a lived in historic house, Gawsworth Hall, archived from the original on 11 July 2011, retrieved 22 February 2011
  5. ^ a b Clifton-Taylor, Alec, Building Materials, in Pevsner & Hubbard 2003, p. 46.
  6. ^ a b Anon. 1992, p. 1.
  7. ^ a b c Anon. 1992, p. 2.
  8. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 3.
  9. ^ a b Anon. 1992, p. 4.
  10. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 5.
  11. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 6.
  12. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 8.
  13. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 9.
  14. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 10.
  15. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 11.
  16. ^ Anon. 1992, p. 14.
  17. ^ a b c Anon. 1992, p. 15.
  18. ^ a b Gawsworth Old Hall, Macclesfield, England: Summary, Parks & Gardens Data Services, archived from the original on 26 March 2012, retrieved 5 March 2011
  19. ^ a b c d e f Groves 2004, pp. 10–17.
  20. ^ Quoted in Groves (2004).
  21. ^ Anon. 1992, pp. 16–17.
  22. ^ a b Listed Buildings, Historic England, retrieved 25 March 2015
  23. ^ Historic England, "The Gatehouse, Gawsworth Old Hall (1311100)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
  24. ^ Historic England, "Gatepiers approximately 20 yards to northeast of Gawsworth Old Hall (1159298)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
  25. ^ Historic England, "Garden walls at Gawsworth Old Hall (1139501)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
  26. ^ a b c Historic England, "Maggoty Johnson's Grave, Gawsworth (1329714)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
  27. ^ Historic England, "Gawsworth Old Hall (1139500)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
  28. ^ Historic England, "Gawsworth (Old) Hall (1000539)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
  29. ^ Definition; Grade II*, Historic England, retrieved 28 April 2011
  30. ^ Events, Gawsworth Hall, archived from the original on 11 July 2011, retrieved 5 March 2011
  31. ^ Orchard Tea Rooms, Gawsworth Hall, archived from the original on 11 July 2011, retrieved 5 March 2011
  32. ^ Weddings, Gawsworth Hall, archived from the original on 11 July 2011, retrieved 5 March 2011
  33. ^ Open air theatre, Gawsworth Hall, archived from the original on 11 July 2011, retrieved 5 March 2011

Sources

Further reading

External links

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