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Eaton Hall is the
country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire 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 Townhou ...
of the
Duke of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...
. It is south of the village of Eccleston in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about . The first substantial house on the site was built in the 17th century. During the early 19th century it was replaced by a much larger house designed by
William Porden William Porden ( 1755 – 1822) was a versatile English architect who worked for the 1st Earl Grosvenor and the Prince Regent. Life Born in Kingston upon Hull, (Subscription required) he trained under James Wyatt and Samuel Pepys Cockere ...
. This in turn was replaced by an even larger house, with outbuildings and a chapel, designed by
Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...
. Its construction started in 1870 and concluded about 12 years later. By 1960 the fabric of the house had deteriorated and, like many other mansions during this period, it was demolished, although the chapel and many of the outbuildings were retained. A new house was built but its design was not considered to be sympathetic to the local landscape, and in the late 1980s it was re-cased and given the appearance of a French
château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
. The house has been surrounded by formal gardens since the 17th century, the design of which has changed over the centuries in accordance with contemporary ideas and fashions, as has the surrounding parkland. A variety of buildings are included in the estate, some decorative, others built for the business of the estate; many of these are
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s. The house and estate are not normally open to the public, but the gardens are open on three days a year to raise money for charity, and some of the estate's buildings can be hired for charitable purposes.


Halls

Eaton Hall has been the country house of the
Grosvenor family Grosvenor may refer to: People * Grosvenor (surname), including a list of people with the surname Grosvenor * Grosvenor Francis (1873–1944), Australian politician * Grosvenor Hodgkinson (1818–1881), English lawyer and politician Places ...
since the 15th century. There is evidence of a two-storey house on a
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
ed site in the estate in a 17th century estate map and an 18th century engraving. A survey undertaken in 1798 showed that the building was still present.


Samwell Hall

The first substantial house was built for Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet. He inherited the estate at the age of 8 when he succeeded his grandfather,
Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet (c. 1604 – 31 January 1665) is an ancestor of the modern day Dukes of Westminster. He was the son of Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet and Lettice Cholmondeley, daughter of Sir Hugh Cholmondeley. He spen ...
, who died in 1665. The new owner commissioned the architect William Samwell to design the house. Building started in 1675; much of the stone used was brought from the ruined
Holt Castle Holt Castle () was a medieval castle in the village of Holt, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Work began on the castle, which is on the Welsh–English border by the banks of the River Dee, in the 13th century during the Welsh Wars. In the m ...
in north Wales. By 1683 the cost of building the house had risen to over £1,000 (). An engraving of the time shows it to have been a substantial square house with three storeys and
dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...
s. The entrance front had nine
bays 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'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
and a
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
. The engraving also shows the earlier moated house to the south of the new house.


Porden Hall

By the time that Robert Grosvenor, then the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, and later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, inherited the estate in 1802, the Samwell Hall had become old-fashioned and in need of renovation. Grosvenor appointed
William Porden William Porden ( 1755 – 1822) was a versatile English architect who worked for the 1st Earl Grosvenor and the Prince Regent. Life Born in Kingston upon Hull, (Subscription required) he trained under James Wyatt and Samuel Pepys Cockere ...
to plan the improvements. Building started in 1803 and Porden (later assisted by Porden's son-in-law Joseph Kay) estimated it would take three years to build at a cost of £10,000 (). In the event it took just under 10 years and cost over £100,000 (). The previous house was encased and surrounded by "every possible permutation of the gothic style"; including
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
s,
pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...
s, arched windows, octagonal towers, and
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es (both regular and
flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * '' Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...
). Two new wings were added in the first stage, and in the 1820s more wings were added, by this time under the direction of Benjamin Gummow. The interior of the house was as lavish as the exterior, with more Gothic detailing. The hangings for the state bed included of purple
damask Damask (; ) is a woven, Reversible garment, reversible patterned Textile, fabric. Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced satin weave and the gro ...
and of sarsenet (fine silk) trimmed with gold lace. When the future
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
visited in 1832 at the age of 13, she wrote in her journal: "The house is magnificent". Others described it as being "as extravagant and opulent as the very latest upholsterer-decorators could make it". A critic found it "the most gaudy concern I ever saw" and "a vast pile of mongrel gothic which ... is a monument of wealth, ignorance and bad taste".
Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (27 January 1795 – 31 October 1869), styled The Honourable Richard Grosvenor from 1795 to 1802, Viscount Belgrave from 1802 to 1831 and Earl Grosvenor from 1831 to 1845, was an English polit ...
, succeeded his father in 1845 and commissioned the Scottish architect
William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival, often referred ...
to make alterations to the house. Burn raised the centre of the south front to make it look like a tower, and changed some of the external Gothic features. The architectural historian
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'' (195 ...
described this house as a "spectacular Gothic mansion".


Waterhouse Hall

The 2nd Marquess died in 1869 and was succeeded by his son Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, initially the 3rd Marquess and from 1874 the 1st 
Duke of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...
. He appointed
Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...
to design another new hall. Again the core of the previous hall was retained; parts were refaced and re-modelled, other parts were completely rebuilt. A private wing was built for the use of the family, and this was joined to the main part of the hall by a corridor. Waterhouse also designed the chapel and a clock-house, and rebuilt most of the stabling. The work began in 1870, took 12 years to complete, and cost £803,000 (). The library was long, the dining room with its ante room was long, and the octagonal great hall contained an organ. For the interior, Henry Stacy Marks painted a
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
of the
Canterbury Pilgrims The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch ...
for the morning room,
Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...
painted panels for the drawing room, and in other rooms were paintings by
Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...
, Stubbs and Reynolds. Pevsner wrote that it "was an outstanding expression of High Victorian originality", and added "this
Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most ...
palace was the most ambitious instance of
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
domestic architecture anywhere in the country". ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' described it as "one of the most princely and beautiful mansions that these islands contain". In 1902 the 2nd Duke gave the large alabaster, porphyry and green serpentine chimneypiece from the Ante-Drawing Room as a wedding present to his sister Lettice, Countess Beauchamp. In 1910 it was carefully dismantled and re-erected at her house,
Madresfield Court Madresfield Court is a country house in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. The home of the Lygon family for nearly six centuries, it has never been sold and has passed only by inheritance since the 12th century; a line of unbroken family ownersh ...
, Malvern, by the architect
Randall Wells Albert Randall Wells (1877–1942) was an English Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts architect, designer, craftsman and inventor. He was the son of an architect, Arthur Wells of Hastings. After a practical training in joinery and foundin ...
, to become the focus of his new top-lit Staircase Hall, where it survives. During both World Wars, parts of the hall were used as a hospital. In 1943, the
Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...
moved to the hall from Dartmouth when the college there was bombed. It moved back to Dartmouth in 1946, after which the hall was used as an
officer cadet training unit This is a list of Officer Cadet Training Units, or OCTUs, which were British military establishments for training future commissioned officers of the British Army, the British Indian Army, and the Royal Air Force, to complement the limited capacity ...
until the end of
National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
in 1958. File:Eaton Hall. The Central Hall (3611517826).jpg, Waterhouse's Central Hall File:Eaton Hall. The Saloon (3611510886).jpg, Waterhouse's Saloon File:Eaton Hall. Ante-Drawing Room (3611573118).jpg, Waterhouse's Ante-Drawing Room File:Eaton Hall. Ante-Dining Room (3610833725).jpg, Waterhouse's Ante-Dining Room File:Eaton Hall. The Dining Room (3611523364).jpg, Waterhouse's Dining Room


Dennys Hall and the present hall

By 1960 the hall needed repair and decoration, and
dry rot Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of wood which give it strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resulted in a ...
was found in the roof. In 1963
Gerald Grosvenor, 4th Duke of Westminster Colonel Gerald Hugh Grosvenor, 4th Duke of Westminster (13 February 1907 – 25 February 1967) was a British landowner and aristocrat. Early life Gerald was the son of Captain Lord Hugh William Grosvenor and Lady Mabel Crichton and a gran ...
, decided to demolish the main part of the Waterhouse building and the private wing whilst retaining the chapel, clock tower and stables. A new building was commissioned by the Duke, who appointed John Dennys, his wife's brother-in-law, as architect. Dennys had earlier worked on Saighton Grange on the Eaton estate. The intention was to build a modern, manageable home. The result was a rectangular, flat-roofed building, faced with white
Travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...
, its "whiteness einga stark contrast to the softness of the Cheshire landscape". Its construction began in 1971, it took less than  years to build, and cost £459,000 (). The exterior had a central
porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; ; ; ) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which originally a ...
on the entrance front. The house followed an asymmetrical plan, with two storeys plus a basement containing a swimming pool. A central two-storey hall gave access to the principal rooms, with the main reception rooms being on the first floor. The decor included wall coverings in silk and woodblock floors. Subsequently, the Dennys Hall was considered to be unsympathetic to its setting, and it was decided to change its exterior. This was undertaken by the
Percy Thomas Partnership Percy Thomas Partnership was the trading name of the award-winning British architectural practice established some time between 1965 and 1973 as the successor to a series of earlier partnerships originally set up by Percy Thomas (1883–1969) in Ca ...
. Work on recasing the Dennys Hall to make it look more like a French
château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
began in 1989 and was completed in 1991. The result has not been widely praised; the 2011 Cheshire Pevsner describes the building as "Château style, (Waterhouse's) Eaton style, but also
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
style".


Associated structures

Adjacent to the hall are the remaining structures designed by Waterhouse. To the north is Eaton Chapel; this, with its clock tower, is a Grade I listed building. The decorative scheme of the interior of the chapel is based on the '
Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...
'; it involves stained glass and stone
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
, and was developed by
Frederic Shields Frederic James Shields (14 March 1833 – 26 February 1911) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British artist, illustrator, and designer closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites through Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox ...
. Immediately to the north of the chapel is the Stable Court; this is listed at Grade II*. The buildings in the Stable Court are in brick, red stone, and half-timbering, with red tile roofs. The west range has a half-timbered upper storey with two gables, and a central
gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...
with
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
s which are polygonal at the base and circular higher up and have conical roofs. On each side of the gatehouse are two-storey arcades with
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 above. In the courtyard is a statue of a horse by
Joseph Boehm Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, (6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the " Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Pa ...
, which is listed at Grade II. At the southeast corner of the stable yard is a
postillion A postilion or postillion is a person who rides a harnessed horse that is pulling a horse-drawn vehicle such as a coach, rather than driving from behind as a coachman does. This method is used for pulling wheeled vehicles that do not have a dr ...
's house, dated 1873 and listed at Grade II*. In a lobby between the stable yard and the chapel is an artificial
grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...
, listed at Grade II. In the area around the Stable Court are further structures listed at Grade II. To the north is the Coachhouse Court, which consists of a coach-house, a covered court and a riding school. These were designed in the 1870s for the 1st Duke. To the north of this are Eaton Hall Cottages, four attached cottages, which were designed about the same time. In the forecourt between the Coachhouse Court and the cottages is a lodge, with gates, piers and screens. Near to the cottages is the former engine shed of the
Eaton Hall Railway The Eaton Hall Railway was an early gauge minimum-gauge estate railway built in 1896 at Eaton Hall in Cheshire. The line, which connected the Grosvenor estate with sidings at on the GWR Shrewsbury to Chester Line about away, opened in 18 ...
. To the east of the stable yard is a chapel-like sandstone
game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, (sometimes) dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...
dating from the 1870s. From 1896 until 1947, the estate was served by the gauge
Eaton Hall Railway The Eaton Hall Railway was an early gauge minimum-gauge estate railway built in 1896 at Eaton Hall in Cheshire. The line, which connected the Grosvenor estate with sidings at on the GWR Shrewsbury to Chester Line about away, opened in 18 ...
. The line ran from the hall to a depot at Balderton on the Chester-
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
line, and a spur went to Cuckoo's Nest, where there was a repair yard. Part of the old railway route was re-opened in 1996.


Grounds

The estate covers an area of about , within which about of parkland and about of formal gardens. These are listed at Grade II* on the
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...
{{R from move ...
. The boundaries of the estate generally follow field boundaries but on the east side they follow the line of the River Dee.


History

In the 17th century, formal gardens were created around the Samwell Hall; these included such features as
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...
s and canals. However they were costly to maintain, and in the later part of the 18th century fashions changed to favour a more informal type of garden layout. Credit for designing the informal gardens at Eaton Hall has been given to
Lancelot "Capability" Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...
. Although one of Brown's documents dated 1764 shows that payment was made to him by the estate, it also notes that a plan for the garden had been drawn up by
William Emes William Emes (1729 or 1730–13 March 1803) was an English landscape gardener. Biography Details of his early life are not known but in 1756 he was appointed head gardener to Sir Nathaniel Curzon at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. He left this post ...
. From this, Marion Mako concludes that, as Brown was an engineer as well as a landscape gardener, the payment was for an engineering project rather than for landscaping. Emes had been influenced by Brown, although he had not been his pupil. With his clerk of works, Thomas Leggett, Emes worked in the estate for the next 10 years. When Robert Grosvenor (later the 1st Marquess) inherited the estate at the beginning of the 19th century, it had become run-down. The marquess appointed John Webb, a pupil of Emes, to improve the garden and the landscaping. Among Webb's innovations were new
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
walls behind the house, the levelling of Belgrave Avenue and the planting of 130,000 trees along it, and a serpentine lake to the east of the house alongside the River Dee. He also arranged for the construction of
greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...
s and a
kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...
. Fashions changed again, and in the 1820s
William Andrews Nesfield William Andrews Nesfield (1793–1881) was an English soldier, landscape architect and artist. After a career in the military which saw him serve under the Duke of Wellington, he developed a second profession as a landscape architect, designing so ...
was employed to design new parterres. He also built more terracing and a
balustraded A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...
wall. Statues, stone
urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...
s and vases on
pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
s were added to the garden. In 1852 the
Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...
House was built; this was extended in 1870 to its final size of long, wide, and high. The present kitchen garden was created the same year; this provided the food not only for the hall, but also for Grosvenor House in London. More greenhouses were built and, by about 1880, 56 gardeners were employed. There were other building works in the grounds. Waterhouse created a
grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...
between the chapel and the stable yard, and designed the Parrot House and a
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
(now known as the Temple). The
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
architect John Douglas designed the Dutch Tea House in the Tea Garden, and a number of service buildings in the estate. In 1897–98
Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
started to improve what had been known as the Italian Garden (and is now the Dragon Garden). Work continued in the gardens and grounds during the 20th century. The 2nd Duke commissioned
Detmar Blow Detmar Jellings Blow (24 November 1867 – 7 February 1939) was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocracy, and later he became es ...
, a pupil of Lutyens, to re-design parts of the gardens. With Fernand Billerey, he removed the parterres, built a canal leading away from the house, added hedged compartments to the terraces, and a pond at the base of the terraces (now the Lioness and Kudu Pond). During the Second World War, part of the parkland was requisitioned as an airfield, and in 1940 some of the garden buildings were damaged by a cluster of
incendiary device Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel ...
s. After the war, improvement of the gardens did not resume until the 1960s, when the wives of the 4th and 5th Dukes worked with the designer James Russell. Since the early 1990s, the gardens have been further developed under the 6th Duke and his wife, Natalia, working with the garden designers
Arabella Lennox-Boyd Arabella Lennox-Boyd, Lady Lennox-Boyd (née Parisi) is an Italian-born English garden designer. Background Arabella Lennox-Boyd was born in Rome and grew up there and at Palazzo Parisi, Oliveto, their family home. She later settled in England w ...
and Vernon Russell Smith.


Formal gardens

To the east of the house a series of terraces leads down to the Fish Pond. The retaining walls at the southern end of the upper terrace are listed at Grade II, as are the retaining walls at the end of the upper terrace and the steps leading down to the middle terrace. Stretching along the middle terrace is a long rectangular pool containing a three fountains. The retaining walls of this pool are listed at Grade II, as are the railings on the north and the south side of the terrace. On each side of the pool are two compartments framed by
yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...
hedges. Between these compartments, on each side, is a statue by Raymond Smith. Both of these were made in 1852 for the 2nd Marquess and are listed at Grade II. The one to the north depicts a stag at bay, and that to the south a hunter on a rearing horse. From the end of the pool, steps lead down to a smaller rectangular pool at right-angles to the first. The steps and the retaining wall at the end of the terrace are listed at Grade II. The retaining walls of the pool are also listed at Grade II. This area contains two statues by Jonathan Kenworthy. From this pool a path, known as the Broad Walk, stretches to the north and the south. At each end of the Broad Walk is a building designed by Waterhouse for the 3rd Marquess. At the north end is the Parrot House, dating from 1881–83, which is built in yellow
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
. It is the form of a round
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
d Ionic temple with a shallow domed roof. Above the colonnade and the inner drum are
concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be ''concentric'' when they share the same center. Any pair of (possibly unalike) objects with well-defined centers can be concentric, including circles, spheres, regular polygons, regular polyh ...
balustrades A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...
. A flight of eleven steps leads up to the south entrance. The Parrot House is listed at Grade II. At the south end of the Broad Walk is a
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
, dating from about 1880. This is built in buff and red
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
. At its front are three arches between Ionic columns. The loggia was built to enclose a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
which was found in 1821 at a spring near Boughton and brought to Eaton in 1822. The loggia is listed at Grade II. To the east and west of the loggia are reconstructed Roman columns, each of which is listed at Grade II. South of the loggia is the Dutch Tea Garden, which was laid out by C. E. Mallows in about 1905. The garden contains the
Tea House A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only ser ...
which was designed by John Douglas. This has a
cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
plan and is a
half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
building on a sandstone
plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
. The roof is of red tiles, and sweeps upwards to a small spire surmounted by a
weathercock 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 , me ...
. It is listed at Grade II. In the centre of the garden is a statue of Mercury and in front of the Tea House are two stone
Talbots The Talbots, Inc., doing business as Talbots and stylized as TALBOTS, is an American specialty retailer and direct marketer of women's clothing, shoes and fashion accessories. As of 2018, the company operated 495 Talbots stores in the United S ...
. To the north of the Tea House, on the path leading to the Broad Walk, is a pair of
wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
gates made in 1913 for the 2nd Duke. The gates and their overthrow are listed at Grade II. To the south of the hall is a formal garden known as the Italian Garden. This contains a pool at the centre of which is the Dragon Fountain. The fountain is listed at Grade II. In the Italian Garden are two statues, also listed at Grade II, which were taken from the old hall when it was demolished; these are a statue of Joan of Eaton, and of the Norman
Bishop Odo Odo of Bayeux (died 1097) was a Norman nobleman who was a bishop of Bayeux in Normandy and was made Earl of Kent in England following the Norman Conquest. He was the maternal half-brother of duke, and later king, William the Conqueror, and w ...
. Leading from the north of the house is the Spring Walk, leading to the Kitchen Garden, in which food is grown for the family. To the east of the Kitchen Garden is the Camellia Walk, a long
greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...
filled with
camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...
s. This is long and is believed to be the longest glass corridor in the world. It is listed at Grade II. Some of the gates in this garden are believed to have been designed by Lutyens, and are listed at Grade II. Other walls and gates around the garden were designed by Waterhouse in about 1870, and are listed at Grade II*. To the east of the house is the
forecourt Forecourt may refer to: * a courtyard at the front of a building * in racket sports, the front part of the court * the area in a filling station containing the fuel pumps * chamber tomb forecourt This article describes several characteristic arch ...
, which has as its centrepiece a pool containing an
equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...
of the 1st Duke. This depicts the Duke on horseback holding aloft a
falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...
. It is in
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
and was made between 1870 and 1879 for the Duke by G. F. Watts. It is listed at Grade II*. The retaining walls of the pond are listed at Grade II. To the west of the forecourt are the Golden Gates which, together with their screens and lodges, are listed at Grade I. The other listed building in the gardens is a large stone
urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...
on the east side of the Fish Pool dating from about 1880. This is richly carved, is high, and stands on a circular
pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
which forms the final feature of the eastern view from the hall. It is listed at Grade II.


Other features

The grounds can be entered by a number of approaches, each of which contain structures of architectural importance.''Wirral & Chester: Explorer map 266''.
Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
.
Belgrave Avenue, some long, is a straight drive which leads from the
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
Road (B5445) to the Golden Gates and the forecourt on the east of the hall. Belgrave Lodge, on the south side of the avenue was built in 1899 to a design by John Douglas for the 1st Duke. It is built in red bricks with yellow stone plinths, bands and other dressings and is listed at Grade II. The associated lodge gates, piers and wing walls were designed at the same time by Douglas and are also listed at Grade II. Part way along the avenue, on its north side, is
Upper Belgrave Lodge Upper Belgrave Lodge is a house at the east end of Belgrave Avenue, the road connecting the B5445 road between Chester and Wrexham, and Eaton Hall, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grad ...
. This was also designed by Douglas for the 1st Duke, it is dated 1877, and is Grade II listed. Further along the avenue is a Grade II listed
obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
in red sandstone with a copper cap, dated 1890, designed by
Douglas and Fordham John Douglas (11 April 183023 May 1911) was an English architect who designed over 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised through ...
. The Aldford Approach leads from the village of
Aldford Aldford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Aldford and Saighton, in the Cheshire West and Chester district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. (). The village is approximately to the south of Chester, on th ...
and crosses the River Dee by the Grade I listed Aldford Iron Bridge, which was built in 1824 by William Hazledine for the 1st Marquess. Iron Bridge Lodge, adjacent to this bridge, was designed by Douglas and Fordham in 1894 and is listed at Grade II. Also on this approach is Coachmore Hill Lodge which was designed in the 1880s by Douglas; it is listed at Grade II. On the approach, near the Dutch Tea Garden are gates with an overthrow, and piers dating from about 1870 in Classic Revival style, listed at Grade II. From the north of the hall are two further approaches. The Eccleston Approach goes to the village of Eccleston, and slightly to the west, the Chester Approach bypasses the village, going through Eccleston Hill. Associated with these approaches are further listed buildings. Of these, the major structure is Eccleston Hill Lodge which was designed in 1881–82 by Douglas for the 1st Duke and is listed at Grade II*. This is a three-storey gatehouse tower with multiple attached smaller towers and a steeply
hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...
. The other structures are listed at Grade II and comprise Eccleston Lodge which was designed by Douglas and Fordham in 1894, its associated gates, piers and wing railings, a sandstone balustered
causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
south of the lodge carrying the drive, a house called Eaton Boat, designed by Douglas about 1880, Garden Lodge designed by Waterhouse in 1881–83, a pair of gates, railings and screen walls adjoining the lodge dating from 1881–83 by Waterhouse, Stud Lodge storehouse and domestic offices, designed in 1883 by Douglas, the Stud Riding School, the Stud Stables, the house east of Stud, Eaton Estate Office, designed by Waterhouse in 1880, the North Lodge of 1881 by Waterhouse, the North Lodge gate and post from about 1881 also by Waterhouse, the Garden House of 1893 by Douglas and Minshull, and gates and gate piers to the south of Garden House.


Present day

Eaton Hall is a private residence and is not open to the public, but the gardens are open three days each year to raise money for charity. In the area of the Stable Court are a number of rooms which are used for exhibitions. The Carriage Museum holds the Westminster Collection of
Carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
s. The Exhibition Room houses a collection of items relating to the Grosvenor family, and the History Room contains items about the history of the family and illustrations of the hall at various stages in the past. The Stables include items relating to the family's horses. In the garden, the Parrot House contains an exhibition of paintings by the
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
artist Henry Stacy Marks. Some of the areas in the stable court are available for hire for charitable fund raising. The Long Room, which was refurbished in 1992 and now has the character of a large country house
drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th ce ...
, can hold 150 people. The former saddle room is now a dining room. The carriage room and adjoining buildings have been converted into the Wolf Room, which has a movable stage and audio-visual facilities. It can seat 200 people and contains eight black-chalk pictures of birds by
Joseph Wolf Joseph Wolf (22 January 1820 – 20 April 1899) was a German artist who specialized in natural history illustration. He moved to the British Museum in 1848 and became the preferred illustrator for explorers and naturalists including David Livin ...
. The chapel is usually reserved for the family but in December each year it is used for carol concerts to raise money for charity.


See also

*
Eaton Hall Railway The Eaton Hall Railway was an early gauge minimum-gauge estate railway built in 1896 at Eaton Hall in Cheshire. The line, which connected the Grosvenor estate with sidings at on the GWR Shrewsbury to Chester Line about away, opened in 18 ...
*
Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester 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 West and Chester. List of buildings ...
* Listed buildings in Eaton, Cheshire West and Chester *
Grosvenor Group Grosvenor Group Limited is an internationally diversified property group, which traces its origins to 1677 and has its headquarters in London, England. Previously (from 1841) based at 66-68 Brook Street & 53 Davies Street, it is now based at 7 ...


Notes and references

;Notes ;References ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * *


External links


Eaton Hall estate website

A gallery of photographs of the hall and gardens, May 2010

Aerial photograph of the hall and grounds

Includes photographs of the hall and other buildings
{{Use British English, date=July 2022 Country houses in Cheshire Gardens in Cheshire * Alfred Waterhouse buildings