Dorfold Hall
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Dorfold Hall () is a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion in
Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...
,
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, considered by
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in the county. The present owners are the Roundells.


History

Dorfold or ''Deofold'' means "cattle enclosure" or "deer park". It does not appear in the
Domesday survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, but according to some sources
Edwin, Earl of Mercia Edwin (Old English: ''Ēadwine'') (died 1071) was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's de ...
, elder brother of Earl Morcar and brother-in-law to
Harold II Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...
, had a hall there before the Conquest.Latham, pp. 115–119Moore H. A short account of Acton Church and neighbourhood (1930; revd c.1933; web published by Cross Country Group of Parish Churches)
(accessed 21 February 2008)
A manor at Dorfold is recorded in Henry III's reign (1216–1272); early landowners were the Wettenhall, Arderne, Davenport, Stanley and Bromley families. The estate was purchased in 1602 by Sir Roger Wilbraham, a prominent lawyer who served as
Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On ra ...
under
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
and held positions at court under
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
. Dorfold Hall was constructed in 1616–1621 for his younger brother and heir, Ralph Wilbraham, on the site of the earlier hall. In 1754, the estate was sold to Nantwich lawyer James Tomkinson, originally from
Bostock Bostock is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 229, reducing slightly to 225 at the 2011 Census. The ...
. He employed Samuel Wyatt to alter some of the downstairs rooms in the house. The Dorfold Estate passed back to descendants of the Wilbraham family in 1861 on inheritance by Anne Tollemache, the wife of Wilbraham Spencer Tollemache, who became
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 ...
in 1865. The grounds of the hall were remodelled in 1861–1862, with the construction of several buildings including the gate lodge. In August 1896, the hall received a royal visit from Princess Louise. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, refugees, mainly from
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, were housed at the hall until November 1940, when the park became a camp for Canadian soldiers.


Description

Dorfold Hall is a two-storey building on a double-pile plan in red brick with stone dressings. The main façade features a recessed centre with two small wings and large windows.


Grounds

The
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...
lists 8 hectares of the grounds at grade II. The park includes a lake. A grade-II*-listed gateway now situated in the wall to the west of the hall formerly belonged to Sir Roger Wilbraham's almshouses in
Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...
. The wrought-iron gate features a sun motif with scrolls; it stands in a moulded stone opening flanked by niches containing busts of King James I and Anne of Denmark and surmounted by lions. Several other buildings within the park are also listed at grade II. The oldest of these is an icehouse with a circular underground chamber lined with red brick which probably dates from the late 18th century. The reconstruction of the grounds by William Nesfield in 1861–1862 also resulted in several structures that are now listed. The Jacobean-style gate lodge on Chester Road is in red brick with stone dressings and blue brick decoration. The clock tower over the carriage house features stone frames to the clock dials and is topped by a wooden finial with a weather vane. A large iron statue of a mastiff with puppies oversetting a food bowl stands in the forecourt of the hall; it is attributed to
Pierre Louis Rouillard Pierre Louis Rouillard (Paris, 16 January 1820 – Paris, 2 June 1881) was a French sculptor known for his sculptures of animals. He was one of a "school of French '' animalières''", which also included Pierre-Jules Mêne, Antoine-Louis Barye, ...
and came from the Paris Exhibition of 1855.Latham, p. 117


Estate

The Dorfold Estate covers much of the civil parish of
Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...
, and includes farmhouses, farmland, woodland and historic parkland.Acton, Edleston and Henhull Parish Plan
(accessed 17 August 2007)
Dorfold Dairy House was formerly the estate's home farm; a three-storey, three-bay, U-shaped building in red brick dating from the late 17th century, it is listed at grade II*. The adjacent red-brick farm building is grade II listed. Madam's Farm () has always been a working farm and is a three-storey, three-bay, T-shaped building in red brick, it is listed at grade II.


Nantwich and South Cheshire Show

Dorfold Hall Park hosts the annual Nantwich and South Cheshire Show, a single-day
agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, breed ...
with trade stalls and ring displays organised by the Nantwich Agricultural Society. In 2006, the event drew an estimated 32,000 visitors.BBC: Stoke & Staffordshire: Nantwich International Cheese Show 2006
(accessed 21 February 2008)
Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council: Wet summer blights Nantwich Show
(accessed 21 February 2008)
The show includes the Nantwich
International Cheese Awards The International Cheese Awards is an annual cheese show and competition. Until 2019, it was held at Dorfold Park near Nantwich, England. Held since 1897, the show attracts entries from around the world. In Nantwich, day one of the two-day eve ...
, established in 1897 and claimed to be the largest
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
exhibition in Europe.Nantwich International Cheese Show
(accessed 21 February 2008)
The 2007 Cheese Show attracted 2250 entries from around 24 countries.


See also

*
Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire East There are over 9,000 Grade I listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the unitary authority of Cheshire East. Listed buildings Notes See also * Grade I listed ...
* Listed buildings in Acton, Cheshire *
List of works by Thomas Harrison Thomas Harrison was an English architect who flourished in the last two decades of the 18th century and the first three decades of the 19th century. Little is known of his early life, and his precise date of birth is not known. He wa ...


References

Citations Sources *Latham FA, ed. ''Acton'' (The Local History Group; 1995) () * Pevsner N., Hubbard E. ''The Buildings of England: Cheshire'' (Penguin Books; 1971) () *Robinson JM. ''A Guide to the Country Houses of the North-West'' (Constable; 1991) ({{ISBN, 0-09-469920-8)


External links


Dorfold Hall websiteVisiting informationInformation about the stained glass from the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (CVMA) of Great Britain
Country houses in Cheshire Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire Grade I listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire Gardens in Cheshire Historic house museums in Cheshire