Walton Hall, Cheshire
Encyclopedia
Walton Hall is a country house in Walton
, Warrington
, Cheshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building. The hall and its surrounding garden and grounds are owned and administered by Warrington Borough Council.
, brewer
and Member of Parliament
. The local authority website states it was designed by the Lancaster
architect Edmund Sharpe
. However this is not confirmed by any authoritative source. When Sir Gilbert died in 1894, the house was inherited by his son, Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury
, who lived there until his death in 1938.
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. A clock tower was also added around this time. The new wing has since been reduced, leaving the clock tower isolated. The house and grounds were purchased by Warrington Corporation in 1941. The gardens were opened to the public in 1945.
roofs. The east front has 2½ storeys and two wide bays
with bay window
s, two crow-stepped gable
s and three pinnacle
d octagonal buttress
es. 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 mullion
ed and transomed
window and three crow-stepped gables.
and steps between the lawns east of the hall are listed Grade II. Also listed Grade II are the former lodge to the hall, and its associated gates, gatepiers and screens.
, crazy golf
, and bowls
, and a children's zoo. A group known as the Friends of Walton Estate assist in the care and management of the estate. Each year the Warrington Disability Partnership organise a Disability Awareness Day in the grounds. Inside the hall, function rooms are available for hire, and there is a concert room. The Friends of Walton Hall Music Society organises a series of chamber music concerts in the concert room. The hall is also available for weddings.
Walton, Cheshire
Walton is a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, northern England.Walton is at the southwest edge of the borough, next to the parish of Stockton Heath. It is also close to Daresbury and Moore, although these are in the neighbouring borough of Halton.Walton is divided into...
, Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, 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 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 hall and its surrounding garden and grounds are owned and administered by Warrington Borough Council.
History
The house was built in 1836–38 for Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st BaronetSir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baronet
Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baronet , was a British businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1847 and 1892....
, brewer
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. The local authority website states it was designed by the Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
architect Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe was an English architect and engineer. He started his career as an architect, initially on his own, then in partnership with Edward Paley, designing mainly churches but also some secular buildings...
. However this is not confirmed by any authoritative source. When Sir Gilbert died in 1894, the house was inherited by his son, Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury
Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury
Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury DL , known as Sir Gilbert Greenall, 2nd Baronet, from 1894 to 1927, was a British businessman.Greenall was the son of Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baronet...
, who lived there until his death in 1938.
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. A clock tower was also added around this time. The new wing has since been reduced, leaving the clock tower isolated. The house and grounds were purchased by Warrington Corporation in 1941. The gardens were opened to the public in 1945.
Architecture
The house is built in brown brick with stone dressings and slateSlate
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...
roofs. The east front has 2½ storeys and two wide 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:...
with 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, two crow-stepped gable
Crow-stepped gable
A Stepped gable, Crow-stepped gable, or Corbie step is a stair-step type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building...
s and three 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...
d octagonal buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. 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
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
and large weather vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
. The south face has a mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed and transomed
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
window and three crow-stepped gables.
External features
The retaining wall, balustradesBaluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
and steps between the lawns east of the hall are listed Grade II. Also listed Grade II are the former lodge to the hall, and its associated gates, gatepiers and screens.
Present day
The gardens and grounds are open to the public. Close to the hall are formal gardens, and in the grounds are facilities for pitch and puttPitch and putt
Pitch and putt is an amateur sport, similar to golf. The maximum hole length for international competitions is with a maximum total course length of . Players may only use three clubs; one of which must be a putter...
, crazy golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
, and bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
, and a children's zoo. A group known as the Friends of Walton Estate assist in the care and management of the estate. Each year the Warrington Disability Partnership organise a Disability Awareness Day in the grounds. Inside the hall, function rooms are available for hire, and there is a concert room. The Friends of Walton Hall Music Society organises a series of chamber music concerts in the concert room. The hall is also available for weddings.