Building record 14334/1 - Hatherton Lodge

<1> Historic England, From 2015, Notification of inclusion, amendment or removal from the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Ellis V, 06/09/2018 (Written Communication). SCH7787.

‘…A house called Hatherton Lodge has stood on the present site since at least the seventeenth century. It was purchased from Sir John Smith by a William Twemlow in 1688 and it then passed down successive generations of the Twemlow family. Another William Twemlow (grandson of the former) is recorded to have made considerable alterations and additions to the house during his lifetime and upon his death in 1807, the house passed to his eldest son, John. It would seem likely that the old house was demolished around this time and replaced by the smaller Regency-period villa we see today; being a fashionable gentleman’s country residence, in a style advocated by the Picturesque Movement, rather than as a centre of a working agricultural estate. The design of the front elevation is reminiscent of Decimus Burton's design of The Holme, Regent's Park that was illustrated in Metropolitan Improvements (1831) and the ground plan shows the influence of such publications as J B Paworth's Rural Residences (1818). There is a clear design relationship between the house and its parkland, with a ha-ha between the two; the house was designed to be seen as a picturesque feature in the landscape garden, and the park with its pasture, lake and plantations, screened and contained from the outside world by a perimeter of trees, was design to be viewed from the principal rooms of the house. The 1844 tithe map [see 2] shows the house standing within its parkland; it had a cruciform-plan, with an inverted 'U-plan' stable block to the rear and a walled garden to the north-east. It was owned at that time by the Bereton family, who leased it to Charles Mare, who in turn rented it to John Forshaw.

During the mid-nineteenth century the north-eastern side of the house was extended to the rear, to accommodate a new service wing and by 1898, the service range had been widened, part of the old stable block had been demolished, and a new ‘L-plan’ stable and carriage house had been built to the rear. Eventually, by the late twentieth century, the service wing had been further extended and connected to the remains of the old stable block: it is unclear when it took place. Another undated alteration is that of the ha-ha, the ditch has been in-filled and the stone face re-built; nevertheless, these alterations may be historical and it remains an important landscape feature. During 1998, an orangery with a roof terrace was built against the rear of the house. During the early twenty-first century, both the house and the grounds were subject to refurbishment and building works, which included some internal works within the house, further extension of the former service range, the replacement of the porch in antis by a late-eighteenth century-style portico, the demolition of the remainder of the old stable block, the building of garages and a workshop in the grounds, the re-alignment of the drive together with a new entrance, and the extensive alteration and conversion of the later stable and carriage house (now known as The Old Stables) into a part office/part residence…’

<2> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT191/2, 1844 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Land Line and Master Map Vector Maps, 25/09/2018 (Maps and Plans). SCH4491.