Building record 1298/1/1 - Tatton Old Hall

Tatton Old Hall was the former manor house of Egerton family. An inventory of 1614 mentions the Parlor, Greate Parlor, Greate Chamber, Chapell Chamber, Kytchyn Chamber, Chamber next to Kytchyn Chamber, Brewhouse & Buttery. Also a Work House or workshop, a Kiln and a Mill (1).

The present house originates in the 15th century but has seen significant remodelling and alteration since. It is red English garden-wall bond brick with a stone slate roof. Originally all timber framed, but the framing of the external walls was replaced in the late 17th-18th century. It is L shaped consisting of the Old Hall and Tudor wing. Of particular note within the Old Hall is the roof of c1480-1520. The roof rafters were originally intended to be seen, as the chamfered floor joists were visible from the floor below. Between 1558 and 1603 a 2 storey wing was added, called the Tudor wing. The parlour has richly chamfered ceiling beams. Upper rooms have small framed walls with wattle & daub infill. Basket arched early 17th century hearth to last floor room. (2a-c)

The manor is situated in the park of Tatton Hall on a plateau that lies above the west bank of the Tatton Mere Brook and is in three areas of protection. It includes the below ground remains of the medieval Old Hall, including a demolished wing, a medieval mill pond and dam to the south-west of the hall as well as prehistoric settlement remains. Tatton Old Hall lies to the south of the village remains. The building was originally surrounded by an enclosure bank, now an earthwork visible for a short length on the northwest side of the present farmyard. This was superseded by a wall. The south side is formed by the Tatton mere Brook. Within the enclosure the present farm buildings date to the 18th and 19th centuries. Trial excavation and resistivity survey showed the northwest of the great hall where there are foundations for an extra wing, extending for 11m beyond the present building. The medieval Tatton Hall was abandoned when the present Tatton Hall was built. Tatton Old Hall is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it the medieval hall and wing are included. (3a-c)

The building of the new manor house on this site suggests a shift of emphasis in the village away from Rostherne road, and this impression is reinforced by the much later estate map of 1733, when village buildings formed an arc around Tatton Green (named on a slightly later map) fronting the road from the Mere, by which time the frontage of the sunken road towards Rostherne had been given over to agricultural enclosures. The Old Hall was further developed probably in the later 16th century by the Breretons, when the east wing was added, providing a range of domestic accommodation including a parlour, a brewhouse, bedrooms and possibly a chapel. Excavation under this part of the building has demonstrated that no earlier building was present on the site. (4)

It is not known when the lords of the manor (either the Breretons or the Egertons who succeeded the Tatton family to the estates) moved to the site of the newer Tatton Hall, but it is likely to have been in the late 16th to 17th century. The Old Hall stands about 1km to the east of its successor, overlooking a brook at the southern limits of an extensive area of glacial sands and gravel. The 18th century witnessed the final abandonment of the Old Hall and its precinct as the capital messuage of the estate. The demesne continued to be managed from the Old Hall, where large farm buildings had been constructed since c.1600. (5)

Excavations in 1979 found traces of a timber building supported by a framework on padstones and beams with a clay floor set upon natural sand, 14th century pottery recovered from the floor suggesting that the Old Hall wing was originally 7m-11m longer to the northwest. The internal wall clearly divided the open hall from private rooms to the west, and probably defined the solar, with storage space beneath.

At Southwest end of Great Hall was a screens passage that led to the kitchen. 15th century pottery recovered from the below the kitchen on southwest side of passage with numerous stakeholes, wooden entrance posts & a cobbled surface. Kitchen later transferred to southeast of screens passage. In late 17th century - early 18th century, timber walls replaced with brick walls, which had no foundations

Internal surfaces had been extensively removed prior to the laying of Victorian floor tiles in cement over existing brick floors or on a cinder bed throughout much of the building, and small-scale cellaring and the laying of numerous drains had also caused widespread destruction. Remains of earlier clay flooring were only identified in limited areas at the western end of the hall, except where two layers of clay flooring had been sealed in two small store rooms by sandstone flags laid on sand. Manganese ware found beneath the lower of these clay floors implies that they were no earlier than the late 17th century. Thus, floors throughout were of clay up until the 18th century when some were relayed in brick. Internal postholes identified were packed with bricks of the same date as the existing outer walls, deriving from the provision of support for the roof during replacement of the timber-framed walls with brick. (12)

<1> County Historic Environment Record, 1973-1985, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin, 4/7-10 Williams S R 1976 (Journal/Periodical). SCH565.

<2b> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, /4/110 (Report). SCH1934.

<2a> English Heritage, 2001, Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest (Report). SCH2822.

<3c> Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1999. Tatton medieval settlement, prehistoric settlement remains, remains of Tatton Old Hall and mill dam. (Unpublished Document). SCH4988.

<3a> English Heritage, Various, Old/Original Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Description), 1998 SAM30362 (Scheduling Record). SCH4606.

<3b> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment), 1998 SAM30362 (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

<4> Higham N.J, 1999, The Tatton Park Project, Part 2: The Medieval Estates, Settlements and Halls.JCAS, p.112-127 (Article in Journal). SCH4937.

<5> Higham N.J., Aylett P,. Smith J.H., 2001, The Tatton Park Project, Part 3: The Post-Medieval Estate and Halls; Grandeur to Decline, p.82-84+113 (Article in Journal). SCH4938.

<6> Various, Cheshire History, 13/4-6 Williams S R 1984 (Journal/Periodical). SCH811.

<7> Various, Aerial photographs, Williams S R 1979 (Aerial Photograph). SCH128.

<8> Higham N J & Aylett P, 1990, A Short History of Tatton, p.6 (Booklet-Leaflet). SCH4950.

<9> Miln J, 2001, Tatton Park: Archaeological Survey (Mercia Region), p.79 (Report). SCH4955.

<10> Parklands Consortium Ltd, 2002, Tatton Park Survey, Knutsford, Cheshire: Historic Landscape Appraisal. Volume 1, 2.6.1.1. (Report). SCH4977.

<11> County Historic Environment Record, 1973-1985, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin, 6/53-57/McKenna, L 1978 (Journal/Periodical). SCH565.

<12> County Historic Environment Record, 1973-1985, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin, 7/22-27 McKenna J L 1980 (Journal/Periodical). SCH565.

<13> Hussey, John, 1974, Redrawing of 1733 Hussey Tatton Estate Map (Maps and Plans). SCH4969.

<14> Higham N J, 1984-9, Professor Nick Higham's Aerial Photographs, 1984/1/32, J87/2/11, 13-15 (Aerial Photograph). SCH7659.