Peover Hall
Encyclopedia
Peover Hall is a country house in the civil parish of Peover Superior
Peover Superior
Peover Superior is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.It contains the village of Over Peover and Peover Hall. St Lawrence's Church, Over Peover is a Grade I listed building....

, commonly known as Over Peover, 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.

History

The house was refaced in 1585 and was built for Sir Ralph Mainwaring. There have been alterations and additions to the house in around 1653–56, around 1764, around 1944 and in 1966. It was originally planned as an E- or H- shaped house but this plan was abandoned around 1590. In 1654 a stable block was built. The alterations in the 1760s included a wing at a right-angle to the house, making it a T-shape, and a new stable block and coach house. In 1919 the Mainwaring family sold the house to John Graham Peel and it was sold again to Harry Brooks in 1940. During the Second World War the house was requisitioned and used by General George Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...

 and his staff. The hall was also used as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 camp, and as a resettlement home for allied prisoners of war and for English people repatriated after the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

. It was returned to the Brooks family in 1950. The 1760s wing was in poor condition and was demolished in 1964, when other modifications were made, including a new entrance.

Architecture and contents

The house is built in red brick with stone dressings and a tiled roof. The early parts of the house are partly two-storeyed with 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 and partly three-storeyed with flat roofs. The windows are 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...

. The house is roughly rectangular in shape with an entrance corridor which runs across its depth. On the left of the corridor is a small sitting room which contains woodwork and furniture from the 16th century. At the centre of the ground floor is the dining room which includes wooden 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 which were formerly in Horsley Hall, Clwyd
Clwyd
Clwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east, bordering England with Cheshire to its east, Shropshire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Gwynedd to its immediate west and Powys to the south. It additionally shares a maritime border with the metropolitan county of...

, and paintings and furniture from the 18th century. Also on the ground floor is the morning room in which is a set of bookcases from Oteley, a former seat of the Mainwaring family in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

. On the first floor are the drawing room and bedrooms. The drawing room is in the centre of the building and contains early 18th-century panelling, 17th and 18th-century furniture, and another set of bookcases from Oteley. On the top floor is the long gallery which contains antique furniture and toys. The kitchen in the basement has two large fireplaces and it also contains arms
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

 and armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...

.

Surrounding buildings and gardens

The stable block is dated 1654 and is listed Grade I. It contains Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...

 style columns at the end of each stall and a decorated panelled ceiling. It is built in red brick on a stone plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...

, with stone dressings and a slate roof. It is in two storey and has nine bays. On its roof is a 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....

 with a clock face. The coach house is listed Grade II. Also listed Grade II are 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...

 gatepiers and wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

 gates which came from Alderley Park, and a mounting block
Mounting block
A mounting block, horse block, or in Scots a loupin'-on-stane is an assistance for mounting and dismounting a horse or cart, especially for the young, elderly or infirm. They were especially useful for women riding sidesaddle, allowing a horse to be mounted without a loss of modesty...

 dating from the mid 18th century.

The hall has a formal garden and stands in a landscape park
Landscape garden
The term landscape garden is often used to describe the English garden design style characteristic of the eighteenth century, that swept the Continent replacing the formal Renaissance garden and Garden à la française models. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is particularly influential.The...

. The landscape park was probably landscaped by William Emes
William Emes
-Biography:Details of his early life are not known but in 1756 he was appointed head gardener to Sir Nathaniel Curzon at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. He left this post in 1760 when Robert Adam was given responsibility for the entire management of the grounds. During his time at Kedleston he had...

 after the alterations to the house in 1764. The formal gardens were laid out between 1890 and 1905 for Sir Philip Tatton Mainwaring. They were remodelled by Hubert Worthington
Hubert Worthington
-Early life:Worthington was born at Chorley, Alderley Edge, the youngest son of the architect Thomas Worthington. He was educated at Sedbergh School from 1900–1905 and then at the Manchester University school of architecture, before being articled to his half-brother Percy...

 during the 1920s, and were further developed from the 1960s by the Brooks. The gardens are listed as Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...

. The gardens are open to the public at advertised times and tours of the house are available.

External links

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