Great Moreton Hall

Great Moreton Hall from the southwest

Coordinates: 53°07′57″N 2°14′29″W / 53.1324°N 2.2414°W / 53.1324; -2.2414

Great Moreton Hall is a former country house in Moreton cum Alcumlow near Congleton, in Cheshire, England, less than a mile (1.6 km) from its better-known near namesake Little Moreton Hall. Designed by Edward Blore,[1] it was built in 1841 by Manchester businessman George Holland Ackers, to replace a large timber-framed building that had been the home of the Bellot family since 1602.[2] The house is designed in the style of a Palladian villa, except that the Great Hall is one of a number of rooms off a large central space, rather than being at the centre of the building.[3] Great Moreton Hall is built in two storeys, interspersed with three and four-storey towers. The service wing to the left of and adjoining the main part of the building is slightly lower than the rest of the structure.[4]

The main entrance is via a broad flight of steps from a porte-cochère, leading to the entrance lobby and a large central hall. A triple arcade at one end of the hall leads to the main staircase, opposite a hooded fireplace decorated with the arms of the Ackers family. The Library, Drawing Room, Billiard Room, Saloon, and the Great Hall are arranged symmetrically around the central hall.[5] "Dark narrow internal corridors" allowed the servants, whose quarters were in the cellars, to reach all the rooms without having to pass through the central hall.[6]

Great Moreton Hall was designated a Grade II* listed building on 14 February 1967.[4] Since 1931 the house has served first as a school and then as a hotel and conference centre.[6]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Port, M. H. (2008), "Blore, Edward (1787–1879)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2679 (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ↑ de Figueiredo & Treuherz (1988), p. 103
  3. ↑ de Figueiredo & Treuherz (1988), p. 104
  4. 1 2 Historic England, "Great Moreton Hall (1138736)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
  5. ↑ de Figueiredo & Treuherz (1988), pp. 104–105
  6. 1 2 de Figueiredo & Treuherz (1988), p. 106

Bibliography

  • de Figueiredo, Peter; Treuherz, Peter (1988), Cheshire Country Houses, Phillimore & Co, ISBN 978-0-85033-655-9


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