Site Event/Activity record ECH7238 - Sandy Brow, Tarporley, Cheshire: Conservation Statement

Conservation statement produced in 2017 for Sandy Brow Stables which were established around 1905 by William Hall Walker, later Lord Wavertree, who founded the national stud 10 years later by donating his bloodstock to the British Government. The property consists of a house with outbuildings, a stable complex and an outdoor arena with paddocks. It is situated at the junction of the A49 and A54 north of Tarporley. The stable buildings have been maintained in use for stabling thoroughbred horses up to the present day, however, they no longer provide the optimum conditions for race and show horses. This study considers the significance of Sandy Brow and presents a set of principles for repair and conversion to inform the potential development scheme. The stables were designed by the Chester architect Richard Thomas Beckett, and are of unusual construction. A practitioner in the vernacular tradition of timber framing, which was revived in Cheshire in the late 19th century by John Douglas and other local architects, Beckett developed a prefabricated system which was specially adapted for stabling horses. Although the buildings are not listed, they are of special architectural and historic interest. (1)