Alderley Old Hall is the remaining part of a former 17th-century

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

near the village of

Nether Alderley Nether Alderley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, on the A34 a mile and a half south of Alderley Edge. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Monk's Heath and Soss Moss. At Monk's Heath crossroads, the A34 crosses the A537. ...

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 stands adjacent to the

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the com ...

Nether Alderley Mill Nether Alderley Mill is a 16th-century watermill located in Congleton Road (the A34), to the south of the village of Nether Alderley, Cheshire, England. It is owned by the National Trust, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for Engl ...

, a loop of which acts as a moat. The hall 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 ...

. It is constructed partly in brick, and partly in

timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

, and represents an addition to the original hall, which was lost in a fire.

History

The Hall was built in

Alderley Park Alderley Park was a country estate at Nether Alderley, Cheshire, England, between Macclesfield and Knutsford. It was the residence of the Stanley family of Alderley from the 1500s. It became the headquarters of ICI Pharmaceuticals in the 1950s. I ...

in the early 17th century for Sir Thomas Stanley,

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

for 1571–72, who then made it his family seat. Stanley had purchased the manor of Nether Alderley and other lands from Sir Edward Fitton of Gawsworth for £2,000. His son Sir Thomas Stanley, a barrister, was made a baronet at the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, and was

in 1630. He made many improvements to the hall, including the construction of a stone-arched gateway at the front, extensive stables and the planting of beech woods near the mere. Following a severe fire in 1779 the baroque frontage of the hall was demolished and a new hall constructed to the south of the park, which has also since been largely demolished. Alterations were made to the remains of the old hall in 1912 by Edmund Warre and the building remains occupied. In 2011 the owner committed suicide in the barn after an armed robbery at the premises and financial pressures. The property was valued at £5m.

History

See also

References

Further reading