Bonis Hall is a former

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

to the north of Prestbury,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England. It was the seat of the Pigot family until 1746, when it was bought by Charles Legh of Adlington. In the early part of the 19th century it was remodelled and used by the Legh family as a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family h ...

. In the early 20th century the exterior was

pebbledashed Roughcast or pebbledash is a coarse plaster surface used on outside walls that consists of lime and sometimes cement mixed with sand, small gravel and often pebbles or shells. The materials are mixed into a slurry and are then thrown at the wor ...

, and castellations were added It is constructed in brick, with

Kerridge Kerridge is a village in Cheshire, England, part of the parish of Bollington. Kerridge borders the neighbouring parish of Rainow. It gives its name to Kerridge Ridge – one of the western foothills of the Pennines – by which it stan ...

stone-slate roofs. The house is in two storeys and has a seven-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

front with coped

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s surmounted by ball and urn

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s. On top of the building is a square tower with a pyramidal roof surmounted by a hexagonal

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

with a copper

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

and

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

as a designated Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The Duke of York (later King George VI) occasionally stayed at Bonis Hall with its owner Sir Robert Burrows. It has since been converted for varied uses, mainly as offices and studios, by several companies. It was for some years the Staff College for the Midland Bank. It then became The Bonis Hall Country Club. During this time a swimming pool was added and also a large entertainment room cum discoteque. This modern addition was in stark contrast to the existing structure. It then became home to the Manchester branch of Royds Advertising Group, who converted the discoteque into their drawing office. This was extended, in matching style, as more space was required. It is today (2023) the Manchester Campus of yet another advertising company, the McCann Worldgroup. This company has undertaken many further alterations and additions to the site. The disco/drawing office has been replaced by a large, two story oval structure in steel and glass, which now links the main building with the coaching house.

References

Country houses in Cheshire Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire {{UK-listed-building-stub

See also

References