Monument record 15348/1 - Former park and gardens associated with Bache Hall

<1> Cheshire Gardens Trust, 2011 onwards, Research and Recording Report, Bache Hall (Report). SCH6655.

Bache Hall, Grade II, (see CHER 15348) was built in the early 18th century replacing an earlier house. It had a lodge at the entrance from Liverpool Road, extensive gardens, trees, woodlands, a waterfall and bridges over the Bache Brook. Owners of Bache Hall have been associated with Kinmel Park, North Wales, Sibbersfield in Cheshire and Flesk Castle, Ireland. The grounds of Bache Hall have largely been lost due to road widening, construction of Countess Way, housing development and the expansion of the Countess of Chester Hospital. Bache Hall is currently owned by the University of Chester and now houses research facilities for the Chester Medical School.

Principal remaining features include: House; Portion of drive; Mature trees; Trees following the line of Bache Brook on the south side of the Countess Way.

<2> Oxford Archaeology, 2024, Countess of Chester, Women and Childrens Ward, Chester, Cheshire: Archaeological Watching Brief Report, R4780 (Client Report). SCH9615.

A watching brief was conducted in 2024 during ground works associated with the construction of the new Women and Children’s Ward, at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Chester. It revealed a small quantity of post-medieval archaeological features which clearly relate to cartographic evidence of aspects of the walled garden of Bache Hall, featured on the 1899 Ordnance Survey map. Many of the features comprised sections of red brick wall forming either garden boundary walls or else associated structures, such as greenhouses, illustrated upon the 1899 map. These were generally found to be poorly preserved within the confines of the observed trenches, usually comprising footings and basal courses only, with little other detail or in situ deposits, the site having been considerably reworked to provide car parking and other facilities for the foundation of the hospital.