Building record 1789/1 - Stretton Lower Hall

<1> Historic England, 2011, The National Heritage List for England (Web Site). SCH6528.

House, late C17, brown brick with grey slate roof. Symmetrical front of 3 storeys and 2 windows; shaped gables to front; other gables coped in stone. Dentil bands of brick at first and second floors; the latter drops slightly left of doorway. Replaced part-glazed door recessed in replaced timber case. Mullions removed and replaced by 6-pane wood casements, probably late C19. Large projecting chimneys of brick on end gables, that to right with 4 flues, that to left with 3. Interior: Cellar of coursed sandstone has mullioned window (now below ground) facing rear. Ceiling beams and door cases chamfered, with carved pineapple stops. Doors of 3 broad oak boards, some with the central board recessed and moulded, and in one door panelled. Open fireplaces in right front parlour and in bedroom above have slightly arched oak hood-beams. Closed stair has no visible features of interest. Oak purlins and some oak beams exposed. C19 rear extension.

<2> Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams - Architects, 2014, Stretton Lower Hall Barns: Statement of Significance, R4151 (Client Report). SCH8446.

A statement of significance, resulting from desk-based research, site visits and detailed photographic survey, was produced in 2014 for the barns at Stretton Lower Hall to inform a proposal for re-development of the site. Originally in single ownership, Stretton Lower Hall and the barns comprised a working farm from the late seventeenth century. The barns became redundant when the modern creamery, built in the 1980s, closed down. The hall is now a domestic residence and is in separate ownership.

There are five barns configured in a U-plan arrangement with a central yard and are located to the north of the hall. They are rectilinear in footprint, vary in size, and range in date from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Barn 1 is slightly taller than the others and is the oldest, evidenced by its timber frame with brick noggin. Dating to the late seventeenth century, and possibly contemporary with the hall, it may have been first used as a threshing barn before use as a shippon (cattle shed). It has nineteenth century additions. Barn 2, of early eighteenth century date, is a long shippon barn with full, first floor hayloft, built in red brick with circular pitching windows. The gables were partially dismantled when a modern mono-pitch roof was installed. Barn 3, of late eighteenth century date, is of red brick with dentil cornice detailing, similar to the hall itself, originally built as stables with hayloft. Barn 4, of mid-nineteenth century date, is single storey and built in red brick with carved Cheshire red sandstone quoins. Barn 5, of early eighteenth century date, also is single storey with arched-headed window openings, similar to those on the east elevation of barn 1. In terms of condition, at the time of the survey, barns 4 and 5 were incomplete, with only low level sections of walling remaining intact. The three main barns, 1, 2 and 3, form an L-shaped range, and although in dilapidated condition, with roof finishes missing and substantial cracking to the elevations, retain much of their original character.

The barns are considered to have low significance when considered in isolation owing to their dilapidated condition, although barn 1 is considered more significant due to its late seventeenth century, timber-framed construction. In good condition they would positively contribute to the Conservation Area, also the setting of Lower Stretton Hall, with which they have a strong physical, visual and functional relationship. The configuration of the group and its phased development tells the story of the evolution of dairy farming in Cheshire, illustrating how outbuildings were altered and extended to suit changing requirements.

<3> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

The barns have now been demolished and their site re-developed with housing.