Walton Hall, Cheshire

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Walton Hall, east front
Walton Hall, east front

Walton Hall is a country house in Walton, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ600849). It is a Grade II listed building.[1] The hall and its surrounding garden and grounds are owned and administered by Warrington Borough Council.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

The house was built in 1836–38 for Gilbert Greenall, brewer and Member of Parliament,[3] to a design by Edmund Sharpe.[2] In 1869–70 the house was extended with a new wing being added for guests and billiards and a new entrance on the east front.[3] A clock tower was also added around this time.[1] The new wing has since been reduced, leaving the clock tower isolated.[3] The house and surrounding estate were bought by Warrington Borough Council in 1941.[2]

[edit] Description

The house is built in brown brick with stone dressings and slate roofs. The east front has 2½ storeys and two wide bays with bay windows, two crow-stepped gables and three pinnacled octagonal buttresses. The entrance (north) front has a projecting porch. The clock tower to the west has four stages, the top stage containing the clock, and surmounted by a lead-roofed cupola and large weather vane. The south face has a mullioned and transomed window and three crow-stepped gables.[1]

The outbuildings include an iron-framed palm house.[1] The retaining wall, balustrades and steps between the lawns east of the hall are listed Grade II.[4] Also listed Grade II are the former lodge to the hall,[5] and its associated gates, gatepiers and screens.[6]

[edit] Present day

Since 1945 the grounds have been a public park, and now include lawns, picnic areas, a play area, a children's zoo, a heritage centre and ornamental gardens. A programme of events is organised in the grounds. The Friends of Walton Hall Music Society arranges a series of concerts in the hall given by young musicians.[2] The hall is available for hire for weddings and other events.[7]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Images of England: Walton Hall. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  2. ^ a b c d Walton Hall & Gardens. Warrington Borough Council. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  3. ^ a b c Pollard, Richard; Nikolaus Pevsner (2006). The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 628. ISBN 0 300 10910 5. 
  4. ^ Images of England: Retaining Wall, Balustrades and Steps. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  5. ^ Images of England: Walton Hall Lodge. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  6. ^ Images of England: Gates, Gatepiers and Screens. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  7. ^ Weddings at Walton. Warrington Borough Council. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.

[edit] External links