Building record 1281/2/1 - Service Buildings and Offices at Ashley Hall

<1> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 58380 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Stable block in forecourt. Mid eighteenth century. Red Flemish bond brick with stone dressings and slate roof. Court front of two storeys and nine bays in 1.1.2.1.2.1.1 rhythm (some window openings now bricked in). Central doorway with moulded stone surround, frieze and pediment. Bays two and eight have doorcases with stone surrounds and friezes above. End bays project slightly. Central square air vent on roof ridge has opening of Venetian-window outline. Twentieth century window frames in openings with skew-back arches of gauged brick and keystones. Rear of buildings also symmetrical but with six windows. The four central ones (probably original) on the upper floor have stone surrounds.

<2> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 58381 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Carriage House. Early eighteenth century. Red brick, English garden wall bond. Slate roof. Court facade of three bays. Three pairs of carriage doors to ground floor, the two to right hand have segmental arches over formed of two bands of headers. Left hand door is a twentieth century replacement without the relieving arch. Stone moulded mullion windows of three lights with twentieth century window frames. Left hand side has two ground floor moulded one-light windows and a hay loft door and left-hand window to first floor with pulley above. One further moulded stone window surround to rear ground floor.

<3> Greenwood, C. & Greenwood J., 1819, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2115.

This map depicts two parallel long buildings between the hall (see CHER 1281/1/1) and the road.

<4> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol.I p.557 (Book). SCH1389.

The offices, as is usual in the old Cheshire mansions, are ranged in front of the building, between the Hall and the road adjacent.

<5> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT 20/2, 1838 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

This map depicts the stable block, with the carriage house to the east. To the north and parallel to these buildings is a further long range.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ7684, 1877 (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

Two buildings have been constructed between the stables and the carriage house.

<7> Donald Insall Associates, 2019, The South Range, Ashley Hall, Tatton Estate, Altrincham WA14 3QA: Heritage, Design and Access Statement, p.2-4 (Client Report). SCH9143.

The South Range stables date from the mid-eighteenth century and is typical of this era in its design, with an impressive central pedimented doorcase and stone dressings. The central clock tower was originally formed of a square base with the clock mounted upon a Venetian window- shaped panel on the north face. The base was surmounted by an octagonal cupola with a tiled roof, spire and weathervane. Similar designs can be found in the vicinity of Ashley Hall, at Tatton Park and, more similarly, on the carriage house at Dunham Massey. Its placement, together with that of the Carriage House, created a formal approach to the hall. This route appears to have diminished in importance in the late-nineteenth century, with a new, more direct approach through open parkland. In the twentieth century, the South Range was used as a store for agricultural materials and equipment during the use of the wider site as a farm.

<8> Meller Braggins, 2001, Floor Plans and Elevations to the North and South Ranges, and Gardeners Cottage at Ashley Hall (Graphic Material). SCH9144.

Plans and elevations of the southern range, show that an open fronted cart shed, comprising three bays, occupies the space between the carriage house and the stable block. The northern range is two storeys at its eastern end. To the west of the southern range is smaller range orientated north-south along its longest axis. This range comprises a two storey office with attached open sided sheds. The drawings also include the single storey gardener’s cottage.

<9> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Land Line and Master Map Vector Maps, (24/02/2022) (Maps and Plans). SCH4491.