Over Tabley Hall is a country house in the parish of Tabley Superior

Tabley Superior

Tabley Superior is a civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 316. The parish contains the village of Over Tabley.-References:...

 in Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England. It stands in an isolated position to the northwest of junction 19 of the M6 motorway

M6 motorway

The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

.

History

The house was built for the Daniell family. It was remodelled before 1771 by the painter and amateur architect John Astley

John Astley (painter)

John Astley was an English portrait painter and amateur architect, known for his "patronage among a vast circle of fashion" as well as a fortune acquired through marriage.-Early life:...

, producing a a "Georgian

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 façade with sashes

Sash window

A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...

 and spiky pinnacle

Pinnacle

A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...

s stuck on to a plain earlier house".

Architecture

Over Tabley Hall is constructed in red brick with stone dressings and a slate

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...

 roof. It has two storeys and a symmetrical main front of nine bays

Bay (architecture)

A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...

. The central bay protrudes forwards and extends upwards to form a three-storey tower. At the sides of the central bay are pilaster

Pilaster

A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....

s with sunken panels containing round flower decorations. At the top of the bay is an entablature

Entablature

An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...

 with a frieze

Frieze

thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...

 containing similar decorations. Above this is a stone gable

Gable

A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...

, with crocket

Crocket

A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....

ted pinnacles at its apex and at the top of the pilasters. In the bottom storey is a doorway with a pointed arch, and more flower decorations. Above this is a large sash window with a pointed arch, and in the top storey is a similar, but smaller, sash window. All of the other bays contain sash windows under pointed arches, one in each storey. At the corners of the house are pilasters similar to those at the sides of the central bay, with similar decorations, but rising only through two storeys. On top of each of the pilasters is a crocketted pinnacle, and smaller, similar pinnacles run along the parapet

Parapet

A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...

 at the top of the house. The sides of the house have one bay, with features similar to the bays of the front. The house has been designated by English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

 as a Grade II listed building.

Associated building

To the south of the hall is an outbuilding, probably former stables, dating from the 17th century. It is constructed in red brick with stone dressings and a tiled roof. It has two storeys plus and attic. This building is also listed at Grade II.

Further reading