Gawsworth Hall

Gawsworth Hall is a fine timber-framed manor house. It was built in the second half of the 15th century and is a good example of Cheshire 'Black-and-White' architecture.

The original house was built around a quadrangle but at the end of the 17th century it was reduced to its present size by Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield. Gawsworth was the home of the Fitton family for many years.

The family was notorious as the 'Fighting Fittons'. Mary Fitton was a Maid of Honour at the Court of Queen Elizabeth I and known as 'the wayward maid of Gawsworth'. She is considered to be the 'Dark Lady' of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Maggoty Johnson, the last professional jester in England, lived at Gawsworth where he was dancing master to the children He is buried in nearby 'Maggoty Johnson's Wood'.

Today Gawsworth is a medieval house of great charm. There are decorated fireplaces and splendid old timbers.

The house has a fine collection of paintings, sculptue, furniture and armour.

The chapel has stained glass designed by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Gawsworth has a beautiful setting close to the medieval church. In the 16th century Sir Edward Fitton created an important garden here in a bid to impress Queen Elizabeth I.

Only the skeleton of the Elizabethan garden remains - beautiful Tudor walls, formal terraces, a canal and lakes. Gawsworth also has a rare surviving Elizabethan tilting ground.

Today the house is surrounded by formal rose gardens, lovely yew and holly hedges, summer bedding plants, pools and fountains. There are also many delightful statues and ornaments.

In the summer months there is an open air theatre with covered grandstand