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Walton Hall, Cheshire

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OS grid reference
  
SJ 600,849

Built for
  
Gilbert Greenall

Reference no.
  
1139355

Built
  
1836–38

Designated
  
23 December 1983

Phone
  
+44 1925 262908

Walton Hall, Cheshire

Location
  
Walton, Warrington, Cheshire, England

Address
  
Walton Lea Rd, Higher Walton, Warrington WA4 6SN, UK

Hours
  
Open today · Open 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFriday(Good Friday)Open 24 hoursHours might differSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSuggest an edit

Similar
  
Warrington Town Hall, St John the Evangelist's Church, Gulliver's World, Cycle Museum, Sankey Valley Park

This page describes the Walton Hall in Cheshire, UK. For other Walton Halls see Walton Hall (disambiguation)

Contents

Walton Hall is a country house in Walton, Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The hall and its surrounding garden and grounds are owned and administered by Warrington Borough Council.

History

The house was built in 1836–38 for Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baronet, brewer and Member of Parliament. The local authority website states it was designed by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe. However this is not confirmed by any authoritative source. When Sir Gilbert died in 1894, the house was inherited by his son, Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury, who lived there until his death in 1938.

In 1869–70 the house was extended and offices were added by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. The extension included a new wing with a tower, containing a billiards room and rooms for guests, and a new entrance on the east front. The house and grounds were purchased by Warrington Corporation in 1941. The gardens were opened to the public in 1945. Most of Paley and Austin's extension was demolished in about 1990, but the tower was retained.

Architecture

The house is built in brown brick with stone dressings and slate roofs. The east front has 2½ storeys and two wide bays with bay windows, two crow-stepped gables and three pinnacled octagonal buttresses. The entrance (north) front has a projecting porch. The clock tower to the west has four stages, the top stage containing the clock, and surmounted by a lead-roofed cupola and large weather vane. The south face has a mullioned and transomed window and three crow-stepped gables.

Present day

The gardens and grounds are open to the public. Close to the hall are formal gardens, and in the grounds are facilities for pitch and putt, crazy golf, and bowls, and a children's zoo. A group known as the Friends of Walton Estate assist in the care and management of the estate. Each year the Warrington Disability Partnership organise a Disability Awareness Day in the grounds. Inside the hall, function rooms are available for hire, and there is a concert room. The Friends of Walton Hall Music Society organises a series of chamber music concerts in the concert room. The hall is also available for weddings. The property was used for the exterior shots in the filming of the BBC drama series Our Zoo.

References

Walton Hall, Cheshire Wikipedia