Conservation Area: Gawsworth Conservation Area (007)

The Gawsworth Conservation Area lies about 2.5km south-west of Macclesfield. It sits to the west of the A536 Congleton Road, linking Congleton and Macclesfield. Gawsworth is situated on the eastern edge of the Cheshire Plain, with eastwards views to the hills of the Pennine Hills. The conservation area encompasses the historic core of Gawsworth, focused on a group of three principal buildings located on the south side of Church Lane: Gawsworth Old Hall, Gawsworth New Hall, and the Church of St James. The Old Rectory, on the north side of Church Lane, completes this grouping of significant structures. It is approached from the north and west by the L-shaped Church Lane. The conservation area remains a distinctly separate settlement, surrounded by agricultural land. The special interest that justifies designation of the Gawsworth Conservation Area derives from the following features: • An historic settlement comprising Gawsworth Old Hall, the Church of St James, The Old Rectory and Gawsworth New Hall, accessed from the historic route between Congleton and Macclesfield; • Further historic structures, many ancillary to the two principal houses; • The architectural and historic interest of the area’s buildings, including three entries of grade I listed buildings, two entries of grade II* listed buildings and seven entries of grade II listed buildings; • Two outstanding examples of large timber-framed buildings of the 15th and 16th centuries; • Remnants of an Elizabethan landscape garden, bound by 16th century high red brick walls. The gardens of Gawsworth Hall are a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are grade II* registered on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens; • A medieval cross base within the churchyard of the Church of St James; the cross is a Scheduled Ancient Monument; • The core of the settlement is grouped around four fish ponds; • Linear stretches of Church Lane, bound by avenues of mature trees, predominantly conifer and lime.