Whatcroft Hall is a country house situated to the southeast of the village of

Davenham Davenham (pronounced Dave-n-ham) is a rural village and civil parish approximately south of the town of Northwich, part of the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 5,655 ...

, Cheshire, England. It stands to the east of, and overlooking, the Trent and Mersey Canal. The house 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, a ...

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 ...

History

Whatcroft Hall was built in 1780, and enlarged in 1807 for James Topping. The enlargement included a new front, and a dome at the centre of the house over a spiral staircase. There was a later extension adding

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...

s, a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

and a service wing, These were removed in 1938 when the house was reduced in size for Mrs F. F. Stirling. The house was being remodelled again in 2011. Comedian

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Al ...

bought the property with 28 acres of land in 2011. It was subsequently announced that the proposed northern route for the high speed rail line HS2 would take the Manchester spur of the northern link within 150 metres of the property. It was reported in April 2019 that HS2 had purchased the property from Bishop for £6.8 million.

Architecture

The house is constructed in brick with a slate roof. Its architectural style is

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

. The house is in two storeys. The entrance front, which faces northwest, has six bays. At its corners are full-height

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s surmounted by stone

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinat ...

finials. This front contains a pair of doors in a doorcase with pilasters, above which is

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

decorated with

festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depict ...

s and foliage, and a

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian R ...

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

. The windows are

sashes Sashes Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections. The island is located between Hedsor Water and the present navigation cha ...

. The garden front at the southwest of the house has five bays. It contains four French windows and more sash windows. At the rear of the house is another

ed doorcase with a pediment. The northeast elevation contains a further door, this one surmounted by a fanlight. On the roof of the house is a copper-covered, ogee-shaped

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, fro ...

, with a

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 stands on a drum containing four two-light Gothic-style windows. Internally, beneath the cupola, is a stone spiral staircase, with a metal balustrade and a wooden handrail.

History

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading