Tatton Old Hall

Tatton Old Hall
Tatton Old Hall
	Tatton Old Hall
Location	Tatton Park near Knutsford, Cheshire, England
Coordinates	53°19′40″N2°22′03″W / 53.3279°N 2.3674°W Coordinates: 53°19′40″N2°22′03″W / 53.3279°N 2.3674°W
OS grid reference	SJ 756 812
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated	5 March 1959
Reference no.	1329674
	Location in Cheshire

Last updated February 26, 2019

Tatton Old Hall is a historic building in Tatton Park near Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building which is owned by the National Trust and administered in conjunction with Cheshire East Council. It is also known as one of the most haunted houses in Britain and is home to The Haunted Hunts official haunted collection. Paranormal investigations take place on a monthly basis under the guidance of The Haunted Hunts team. ^[1] Its site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.^[2]

Tatton Park is an 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, who administer it jointly with Cheshire East Council. Since 1999, it has hosted North West England's annual Royal Horticultural Society flower show.

English Heritage charity responsible for the National Heritage Collection of England

English Heritage is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that it uses these properties to ‘bring the story of England to life for over 10 million people each year’.

A listed building, or listed structure, is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

History

The hall stands on a site near the village of Tatton, which has since disappeared.^[2] It was built as a manor house around the start of the 15th century by either the Stanley family or Sir Richard Brereton. By 1585 a two-storey wing had been added at a right angle to the original house by Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Chancellor of England. In the 1770s a new hall was built on the site of the present Tatton Hall and the old hall was used as a farmhouse and then a century later converted into three estate cottages.^[3] It remained in the possession of the Egerton family until 1958 when it was given to the National Trust.^[1]

Tatton is a civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 35. The parish does not have a parish council or parish meeting.

Manor house country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor

A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with manorial tenants and great banquets. The term is today loosely applied to various country houses, frequently dating from the late medieval era, which formerly housed the gentry.

Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley,, known as 1st Baron Ellesmere from 1603 to 1616, was an English nobleman, judge and statesman from the Egerton family who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for twenty-one years.

Architecture

The hall is built in red brick with a stone slate roof. It was originally timber-framed, but this was replaced by brick in the late 17th or early 18th century. The hall is L-shaped and externally appears to have two storeys. Internally the floors which were added to the older hall have been removed, exposing the complex wooden roof.^[1] This has a carved wall plate, carved beams and three tiers of quatrefoil wind braces.^[4] The hall contains a gallery which was added in the 20th century. The newer wing retains its two floors and is divided into separate rooms.^[1]

Timber framing and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. It is commonplace in wooden buildings from the 19th century and earlier. If the structural frame of load-bearing timber is left exposed on the exterior of the building it may be referred to as half-timbered, and in many cases the infill between timbers will be used for decorative effect. The country most known for this kind of architecture is Germany. Timber framed houses are spread all over the country except in the southeast.

A plate or wall plate is a horizontal, structural, load-bearing member in wooden building framing.

Quatrefoil artistic representation of four circular leaf shapes used in architecture

A quatrefoil is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional Christian symbolism. The word quatrefoil means "four leaves", from Latin quattuor, four, plus folium, a leaf, referring specifically to a four-leafed clover, but applies in general to four-lobed shapes in various contexts. In recent years, a number of luxury brands have asserted copyright claims related to the symbol.

Cruck barn

In the grounds of the hall is a cruck barn dating from the beginning of the 17th century which was originally in a farm at Frodsham, Cheshire. In a dilapidated state, it was removed from its original site in 1976 and rebuilt and restored at Tatton. The barn is 70 feet (21 m) long and contains four crucks on sandstone plinths.^[3] The long walls of the barn are timber-framed with brick infill on a stone base and the short sides are in plain brick. The roof is thatched in Norfolk reed with sedge on the ridge. On the southeast front are two double doors and one single door; on the northwest front is one single door. Internally, cambered ties have been inserted between the crucks. The barn is listed at Grade II.^[5]

A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which supports the roof of a building, used particularly in England. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and form the ridge of the roof. These posts are then generally secured by a horizontal beam which then forms an "A" shape. Several of these "crooks" are constructed on the ground and then lifted into position. They are then joined together by either solid walls or cross beams which aid in preventing racking.

Frodsham is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is approximately 3 miles (5 km) south of Runcorn, 16 miles (26 km) south of Liverpool, and 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Manchester. The River Weaver runs to its northeast and on the west it overlooks the estuary of the River Mersey. The A56 road and the Chester–Manchester railway line pass through the town, and the M56 motorway passes to the northwest.

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized mineral particles or rock fragments.

Present use

The hall and barn are open on advertised days for escorted tours, and group or educational visits can be arranged.^[2] Historical re-enactments are organised on the site, which may have a medieval theme.^[6]

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References

1 2 3 4 Historic England, "Tatton Old Hall (1329674)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 26 August 2012
1 2 3 Historic England, "Tatton medieval settlement, prehistoric settlement remains, the buried remains of Tatton Old Hall and mill dam (1016586)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 26 August 2012
1 2 The History of the Old Hall, Tatton Park, archived from the original on 27 February 2013, retrieved 6 July 2014
↑ Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 627, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
↑ Historic England, "Cruck barn at Tatton Old Hall (1278564)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 26 August 2012
↑ Events at the Old Hall, Tatton Park, retrieved 9 September 2012

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[images-1] 1 2 3 4 Historic England, "Tatton Old Hall (1329674)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 26 August 2012

[tpark-2] 1 2 3 Historic England, "Tatton medieval settlement, prehistoric settlement remains, the buried remains of Tatton Old Hall and mill dam (1016586)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 26 August 2012

[hist-3] 1 2 The History of the Old Hall, Tatton Park, archived from the original on 27 February 2013, retrieved 6 July 2014

[4] Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 627, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6

[5] Historic England, "Cruck barn at Tatton Old Hall (1278564)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 26 August 2012

[6] Events at the Old Hall, Tatton Park, retrieved 9 September 2012