Building record 15941/1 - Birtles Hall

<1> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 58324 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Mansion: c.1790 for the Hibbert family, balustrade early C19, interior rebuilt by, Henry Sellars after fire in 1938, and some demolition.

Ashlar buff sandstone Welsh slate roof and 3 brick chimneys. 2-storey symmetrical 5-bay south front (2:1:2). Plain frieze and projecting cornice supporting balustrade. End bays have 12-pane sashes in plain reveals with carved classical panels between each pair of windows. Central bay steps forward and has a Ionic porch in antis approached by 4 steps with a pair of doors behind in a simple architrave with a flat hood on consoles. Semi-circular headed niches in the side walls of the porch. Balustraded parapet has Hibbert arms and 12-pane sash above.
East front has canted end bay windows and 4 continuous steps between them.

Interior: Original stone well staircase with plain cast-iron balusters containing simple tracery and a mahogany handrail. Pair of good Georgian mahogany doors with original brass furniture and a reset cast-iron grate. Remaining fireplaces are a collection from other Georgian houses. Remaining interior of 1938 in a good but restrained Classical style.
The architect was said to have been Sir John Soane though the design lacks real distinction and is unlikely to be his.

<2> de Figueiredo P & Treuherz J, 1988, Cheshire Country Houses, p.217 (Book). SCH785.

Severe Neo-Classical house built c.1819 for Robert Hibbert who acquired the Birtles estate in 1791. It is faced with huge fine-jointed blocks of ashlar…surmounted by a top-heavy cornice and balustrade. In September 1938 a fire consumed the interior. Manchester Arts and Crafts architect, James Henry Sellers engaged to reconstruct the interior.