Walton Hall, Cheshire
| Walton Hall | |
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Walton Hall, east front
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| Location | Walton, Warrington, Cheshire, England |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| OS grid reference | SJ 600,849 |
| Built | 1836–38 |
| Built for | Gilbert Greenall |
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Listed Building – Grade II
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| Designated | 23 December 1983 |
| Reference no. | 1139355 |
 Location in Cheshire
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Walton Hall is a country house in Walton, Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] The hall and its surrounding garden and grounds are owned and administered by Warrington Borough Council.[2]
History
The house was built in 1836–38 for Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baronet, brewer and Member of Parliament.[3] The local authority website states it was designed by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe.[4] However this is not confirmed by any authoritative source.[3][5][6][7][8] 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.[4]
In 1869–70 the house was extended and offices were added by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin.[8] The extension included a new wing with a tower, containing a billiards room and rooms for guests, and a new entrance on the east front.[3][8] The house and grounds were purchased by Warrington Corporation in 1941. The gardens were opened to the public in 1945.[4] Most of Paley and Austin's extension was demolished in about 1990, but the tower was retained.[8]
Architecture
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]
External features
The retaining wall, balustrades and steps between the lawns east of the hall are listed at Grade II.[9] Also listed at Grade II are the former lodge to the hall,[10] and its associated gates, gatepiers and screens.[11]
Present day
The gardens and grounds are open to the public. Close to the hall are formal gardens,[4] and in the grounds are facilities for pitch and putt, crazy golf, and bowls,[2] and a children's zoo.[12] A group known as the Friends of Walton Estate assist in the care and management of the estate.[13] Each year the Warrington Disability Partnership organise a Disability Awareness Day in the grounds.[2] Inside the hall, function rooms are available for hire, and there is a concert room.[14] The Friends of Walton Hall Music Society organises a series of chamber music concerts in the concert room.[15] The hall is also available for weddings.[16] The property was used for the exterior shots in the filming of the BBC drama series Our Zoo.
See also
References
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