Ramsdell Hall is a country house in the parish of Odd Rode

Odd Rode

Odd Rode is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located near to Stoke-on-Trent, and includes the settlements of:*Scholar Green*Mow Cop*Mount Pleasant*Rode Heath*The Bank*Thurlwood...

 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, overlooking the Macclesfield Canal

Macclesfield Canal

The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...

. It was built in two phases during the 18th century, and is still in private ownership.

History

The house was built during the 18th century in two phases. The central block was built in the middle of the century, and the wings were added later, probably in about 1768. It is possible that the architect for both phases was William Baker. The house continues to be in private ownership.

Architecture

Ramsdell Hall is constructed in brick with ashlar

Ashlar

Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...

 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 consists of a three-storey central block, with single-storey wings ending in two-storey pavilion

Pavilion

In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...

s. The central block has an L-shaped plan. The garden front of the central block is symmetrical and has three 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 has Venetian windows in the ground and middle floors, and a three-light window in the top floor. The lateral bays have cant

Cant

Cant, canting, or canted may refer to:*Empty, uncritical thought or talk - see *The slope or angle at which something is set, such as the frames of a ship's hull - again, see *Cant , a secret language...

ed bay window

Bay window

A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...

s rising through all three storeys. Above the top floor windows is a cornice

Cornice

Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...

, with a pediment

Pediment

A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...

 above the window in the central bay. Over this is a brick 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...

 with ball finial

Finial

The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...

s. The side wings each have three bays with round-arched windows. The central bay on each side projects slightly, with pilasters and an open pediment. The pavilions also project slightly, and have Venetian windows in the lower floor, with lunette

Lunette

In architecture, a lunette is a half-moon shaped space, either filled with recessed masonry or void. A lunette is formed when a horizontal cornice transects a round-headed arch at the level of the imposts, where the arch springs. If a door is set within a round-headed arch, the space within the...

 windows in the 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...

s above. The pavilions are surmounted by circular lanterns with ogee

Ogee

An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....

-shaped roofs and weathervanes. To the rear of the central block is a gabled wing. The entrance to the house is at the angle of the two wings. The interior contains an octagonal dining room, a hexagonal hall, and a drawing room with a Rococo

Rococo

Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

 ceiling. 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. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner

Nikolaus Pevsner

Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...

 describes it as "a curious house", while the architectural writers Figueirdo and Treuherz say it is "an appealingly quirky house".

Associated structures

There are two structures associated with the house that have been listed at Grade II. The gate piers

Pier (architecture)

In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...

 date from the early 18th century, and the gates from the later part of the same century. The piers are in rusticated

Rustication (architecture)

thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...

 yellow sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 ashlar. Each supports a trophy

Trophy (architectural)

A trophy is an architectural ornament representing a group of weapons, banners and armour. Similar decorative vertical arrangements of hunting accessories, musical instruments or other objects are also commonly referred to as trophies....

 in Portland stone

Portland stone

Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...

, consisting of an eagle supporting a shield with a boar's head crest. The gate piers and gates were moved to the house in the 1950s by Stanley Harrison, the owner of the house at that time. Immediately to the east of the hall is a two-storey timber-framed

Timber framing

Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...

 house, originating in the 16th century, with later additions and alterations. The timber-framing infill

Infill

Infill in its broadest meaning is material that fills in an otherwise unoccupied space. The term is commonly used in association with construction techniques such as wattle and daub, and civil engineering activities such as land reclamation.-Construction:...

 is a mixture of brick and wattle and daub

Wattle and daub

Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...

.