Everything about Eaton Hall Cheshire totally explained
Eaton Hall is a
country house set within a large
park in the village of
Eccleston near
Chester in
England. It is the
country house of the
Duke of Westminster. The estate covers 11,000 acres (45 km²).
The estate has belonged to the Grosvenor family since the reign of
Henry VI in the 15th century, when Ralph Grosvenor, married Joan, daughter of John Eaton and heiress to the estate. The house has been rebuilt several times. In 1675,
William Samwell designed the original Eaton Hall for
Sir Thomas Grosvenor. However, this building wasn't completed until 1682, after William Samwell's death.
Later, in 1690, the building was also attributed to Sir
John Vanbrugh. Between 1804 and 1812
William Porden reconstructed the house in a
gothic style. He doubled the size of the house, but retained the basement of the old house and some of the walls. In the 1870s Eaton Hall was massively expanded in a heavier version of gothic by
Alfred Waterhouse. This was probably the most expensive building project ever on an English country house, costing six hundred thousand pounds: a reflection of the
Marquess of Westminster's status as the richest man in the United Kingdom. (He became the 1st
Duke of Westminster in 1874 while work was in progress, officially for his philanthropic work). The reconstructed house was extremely irregular and asymmetrical, but again some of the old structure was retained, and the nine bay, three storey form of the Vanbrugh house was still apparent in the centre of the facade of the main block. This version of Eaton Hall featured a large chapel with a bell tower, which was connected to the other wings of the house, but stood apart from the them. The tower bore a strong resemblance to the
clock tower,
Big Ben of the
Palace of Westminster in
London. At one time, "There is no place like home" was played on the bells each time the Duke approached the house
From 1896 to 1947 the estate was served by the 15 inch gauge
Eaton Hall Railway. Part of the old railway route was re-opened in 1994.
Eaton Hall served as a hospital in both
World Wars and as an officer cadet training school from 1946 to 1960. Although Waterhouse's design is now considered to have been a masterpiece of Victorian gothic, the main part of the house was demolished by the estate trustees in 1963. However, the chapel, bell tower and stable block were retained. A new house in the modern international style was built; the architect was John Dennys, the 5th Duke’s brother-in-law. Although ducal in size, its stark frontage found little favour with either architectural critics or visitors: one commented that it resembled the largest petrol station in Cheshire. In the
1990s, the house was built up and refaced in a pared-down version of French Classicism.
The house contains a fine collection of furniture and paintings assembled by the
Grosvenor family. The family made its fortune by developing most of
Belgravia and
Pimlico and a large slice of
Mayfair, all of which are in
London. Pimlico has been sold, but the family still owns many properties in Mayfair and Belgravia.
Eaton Hall is a private residence and not open to the public, but the garden is open to the public for a few days each year. The landscaped park of around 400
hectares and formal gardens of around 20 hectares are listed at Grade II* on the
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. There is a function room which may be hired by charities.
Golden Gates
These are at the eastern end of Belgrave Avenue, and were once the principal entrance to the hall . The central pair of gates and the adjacent screen railings date from the early 18th century and are by Robert and John Davies of Croes Foel. The further side gates and screens, dating from around 1880 were designed by Alfred Waterhouse and made by Skidmore of Coventry. At the extremities is a pair of lodges, which are also dated around 1880, and by Alfred Waterhouse. The entire complex is listed Grade I.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Eaton Hall Cheshire'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://eaton_hall__cheshire.totallyexplained.com">Eaton Hall (Cheshire) Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
