Adlington Hall was built on the site of a hunting lodge which stood in the Forest of Macclesfield in 1040.
The estate has been the home of the Legh family since 1315. The courtyard house, once moated, is a pleasing mixture of 16th century timber-framing and 17th and 18th century brickwork.
The oldest part of the house is the timber-framed north range which was completed by Thomas Legh in 1505. Two oaks, which form part of the original building, still have their roots in the ground and support the east end of the Great Hall. This is one of the finest of its date to survive in a English country house.
The timber-framed structure was built in the typical 'Black and White' Cheshire style and rests on a sandstone base under a sandstone roof with red-brick chimneystacks.
Thomas Legh's grandson built the porch on the courtyard side in 1581 and probably added the added the east (service) range. The Leghs were Royalists and suffered financial difficulties during the Interregnum but shortly after the Restoration the hall range was widened and the Hall encased in brick.
By the early-18th century timber-framing was considered to be old-fashioned and in the 1740s Charles Legh replaced the west (parlour) range with a brick building containing reception rooms. In 1757 he built a new brick south (entrance) range, dominated a vast stone portico with four Ionic columns on octagonal pedestals.
Charles Legh also constructed the stable block and laid out the gardens, where his rustic 'Shell Cottage' still stands.
After this period the house remained virtually changed until 1929 when Sir Hubert Worthington was engaged to supervise the removal of some of the 18th century additions.
Adlington Hall's 18th century entrance (south) range now forms the private wing of Adlington Hall and the visitor enters the from the north, where a doorway leads into the screens passage. Here there is access to the courtyard where the architectural development of the house can be seen clearly.
From the screens passage a late-17th century staircase ascends to a series of rooms in the north range. On the way to the mid-18th century Drawing Room a gallery provides a good view over the Hall.
The wood-panelled Drawing Room occupies the site of an earlier great chamber and is lined with Corinthian pilasters. Above the marble chimneypiece are intricate carvings of flowers and fruit by Daniel Sephton of Manchester.
A mid-18th century staircase leads down to the Dining Room. The panelling here is plainer and the walls are hung with a collection of family portraits including work by Thomas Hudson and Cornelius Johnson.
The Hall is still open to its late-medieval carved hammerbeam roof. Over the high table end of the room is the original carved canopy which displays the coats of arms of the leading Cheshire families. Several alterations were made to the Hall shortly after the Restoration. These include the frescoes over the high table and along the north wall depicting the Trojan War and the building of an organ on a gallery at the lower end of the room.
The organ was built by the celebrated 'Father' Bernard Smith in 1670 - 80 and the organ case, decorated with angels, is a magnificent example of the wood carving of the 1670s. George Frederick Handel played the organ at Adlington Hall in 1751 and left a manuscript of a hunting song as a memento of his visit. Today the fully restored instrument is the largest 17th century organ in the country.
The gardens surrounding Adlington Hall were landscaped in the middle of the 18th century in the style of 'Capability' Brown. There is a 'wilderness' area and the follies in the gardens include a 'Temple of Diana', a Chinese bridge, a T'ing House and the 'Shell Cottage'.
There is also a splendid yew walk, a lime avenue planted in 1688, an old fashioned rose garden and a recently planted yew maze.
2008 July: Sun-Wed, 14:00-17:00 Guided tours by arrangement all year except July
Tel: 01625 827595 Adlington Hall Website
