Marbury Hall, Anderton With Marbury
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Marbury Hall was a
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 ...
in Marbury, near
Northwich Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, east of Chester, south of Warrington and south of Ma ...
,
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. Several houses existed on the site from the 13th century, which formed the seat successively of the Marbury, Barry and Smith-Barry families, until 1932. An extensive collection of artwork and sculpture was housed at the hall from 1801 until the 1930s. The final house was extensively remodelled by
Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...
in the 1850s. Marbury Hall was used as a military camp and later as a
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and afterwards
Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...
housed foreign workers there. The house was demolished in 1968, and the grounds now form part of Marbury Park.


History

The first Marbury Hall was built in the 13th century by the Marbury or Merbery family. On the death of Richard Marbury in 1684, the male line of the family became extinct. The estate was sold to
Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers General Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers PC (ca. 1654 – 18 August 1712) was an English nobleman and soldier who was a senior Army officer in the English and then British Army. The second son of Thomas Savage, 3rd Earl Rivers and his first ...
, in 1708. In 1714 it passed to
James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...
, the Earl's son-in-law, who enlarged the existing house, and then to his second son Richard Barry. When the latter died without issue in 1787, the hall passed to James Hugh Smith Barry (1746–1801), an art collector who also owned the adjacent Belmont Hall. In 1819 the Marbury Hall collection of artworks and sculpture was published by Barry's son. James Hugh Smith Barry's grandson of the same name had the hall extended and remodelled by
Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...
in around 1856. It served as the family home of the Smith-Barry family until 1932, when it was sold and became a country club. In 1940, during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the house was requisitioned for war use. British soldiers camped in the park before huts and roads were built to serve the military, including survivors from
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. The house became a
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
, known as Camp 180.
Bert Trautmann Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann (22 October 1923 – 19 July 2013) was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Bremen in 1923, he joined the Jungvolk, the junior section of the Hitler Youth in August 1933. Trautmann ...
, a German
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
, later to become
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
goalkeeper, was billeted at the camp. After the war the house was sold to the chemical company
Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...
, and was used to house
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
workers. However, the house deteriorated over time and was demolished in 1968.
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 ...
called the demolition "a great pity".Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 275


Architecture

The Marbury Hall of 1714 was a
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
building in brick, which
Lord Barrymore Earl of Barrymore was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created for David Barry, 6th Viscount Buttevant, in 1627/28. Lord Barrymore held the subsidiary titles of Baron Barry (created c. 1261) and Viscount Buttevant (created 1541) in the ...
extended with side wings 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 ...
. In 1837,
Thomas Moule Thomas Moule (14 January 1784 – January 1851) was an English antiquarian, writer on heraldry, and one of Victorian England's most influential map-makers. He is best known for his popular and highly decorated county maps of England, steel-engra ...
described the hall before Salvin's remodelling as "a spacious building with a Doric corridor on the entrance front". The hall was enlarged and remodelled in around 1856 by architect
Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...
, based on the great French château of
Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...
. Salvin was recommended by John Nesfield, landscape gardener to the Smith-Barry family. Pevsner considered that Salvin's work was a remodelling of an existing house originally by
James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...
. Architectural writers Peter de Figueiredo and Julian Treuherz, however, state that this is a misidentification of a house by Gibbs described as "a very Convenient Small house of six rooms on the floor for the Honble John Smith Barry at Aston Park in Cheschire" in manuscripts held at the
Soane Museum Sir John Soane's Museum is a house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects and a ...
. They identify John Smith Barry's house with Belmont Hall, now a school, which stands adjacent to the Marbury estate.de Figueiredo & Treuherz, pp. 31–34 Pevsner compared the remodelled Marbury Hall with Wellington College, completed in 1859, describing it as "quite a document of architectural history". The architecture mixed
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
pavilion roofs and French
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 with parts in the Queen Anne style; there were turrets and a dome.


Gardens and park

Wilson's ''Imperial Gazetteer'' states that the hall "stands in beautiful grounds, which include a lake of 80 acres". The
Lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...
Avenues were planted in the 1840s to the design of Nesfield, and still exist today.


Collection

James Hugh Smith Barry, an avid collector of artwork and sculpture, brought numerous works of ancient
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
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 ...
statuary back from
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
at a date variously given as 1766 or 1780. The 45 pieces included part of the
Parthenon Frieze The Parthenon frieze is the low-relief Mount Pentelicus#Pentelic marble, Pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the Parthenon's Cella, naos. It was sculpted between and 437 BC, most likely under the direction of Phidias. O ...
, a greater than life size ( high) Roman marble statue of
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
, a bust of
Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...
, described by Susan Walker of the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
as an "outstanding" portrait, and marble busts of several Roman emperors, including
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...
,
Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...
,
Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (; 15 December 130 – 23 January 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Ma ...
and
Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...
.Reif R. Auctions; classical sculpture ''New York Times'' (10 July 1987)
accessed 25 May 2010)
Some of these pieces were purchased from
Gavin Hamilton Gavin Hamilton may refer to: * Gavin Hamilton (archbishop of St Andrews) (died 1571), archbishop of St Andrews * Gavin Hamilton (bishop of Galloway) (1561–1612), bishop of Galloway * Gavin Hamilton (artist) (1723–1798), Scottish artist * Ga ...
, a well-known archaeologist and antiquities dealer, including a statue of
Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...
for £1000, then the highest known price of any antiquity imported to Britain from Rome. James Hugh Smith Barry also collected numerous paintings by
Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
s, including a self-portrait by
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...
and ''Venus disarming Cupid'' by
Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, ...
. The works were originally housed at Belmont Hall, but after James Hugh Smith Barry's death in 1801, Belmont Hall was sold, and his collection was moved to Marbury Hall. Under the terms of his will, the collection was to be housed in a special gallery, but his heir, John Smith Barry, failed to build this, and it remained to John Smith Barry's son, another James Hugh Smith Barry, to extend the house in 1856. Moule described the interior of the house in 1837: "the hall is filled with antique vases, statues, &c, and the saloon is embellished with many of the finest works of art, for which this seat is celebrated: the collection of pictures is chiefly of the Italian school". In 1870–72,
John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteers. The '' Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (published 1870–1872), was a substantial topographical dictionary in six volumes. It was ...
's ''
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...
'' described the house as containing "a fine selection of paintings and antique sculptures". 180px, Lime Avenue The collection remained intact at Marbury Hall until 1932, when the house passed out of the Smith Barry family. The collection was dispersed with most pieces were sold in 1933 or 1946; the piece of the Parthenon Frieze is now held in the British Museum, and the statue of Zeus is at the
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...
.


Present day

None of the house exists following its demolition. However, raised terraces, a pair of rusticated gatepiers topped with urns, stone walls, the arboretum and walled garden still exist within Marbury Park.de Figueiredo & Treuherz, p. 252 The walled garden is now a garden centre. Dead trees in the Lime Avenues were replanted in 1980 to commemorate the 80th birthday of
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...
, and the avenues were renamed Queen Elizabeth Avenue.


See also

* Marbury Park


References


Sources

*de Figueiredo P, Treuherz J. ''Cheshire Country Houses'' (Phillimore; 1988) () *Pevsner N, Hubbard E. ''The Buildings of England: Cheshire'' (Penguin Books; 1971) ()


External links


Picture of Marbury Hall, 1898



A 2002 Play based on Marbury Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marbury Hall, Anderton With Marbury Country houses in Cheshire Demolished buildings and structures in Cheshire World War II prisoner-of-war camps in England Houses completed in 1856 British country houses destroyed in the 20th century 1856 establishments in England