Peckforton Castle

Details

SJ 55 NW PECKFORTON STONE HOUSE LANE (West Side)

1/23 Peckforton Castle

10.6.52 GV I

Castle. 1844-50, by Anthony Salvin for Sir John Tollemache MP. Rock-faced red sandstone with lead, asphalt and tile roofs. Mainly 3 storeys with one tower 5 storeys high, all arranged around a ward, with the principal accommodation on the north side. The castle has a dry moat, bridged at the gatehouse. The gatehouse has a triple-chamfered giant arch, above the gateway arch, a pair of oak Gothic headed studded doors, shouldered lintels to doors and windows, gate towers and battlements. The buildings at the west side of the inner ward are the stables, coach house, the rectangular bell tower together with the kitchens and service area. East of the entrance is the chapel (qv) and north is the Great Hall range of 18 bays with the entrance porch, set forward, approached up steps and with Gothic headed arch. The Hall has cross windows with trefoil heads and small trefoil lights in the gothic heads and a polygonal oriel window whereas the service and bedroom wing (west) and Long Gallery wing (east) mainly have two-light windows with shouldered lintels. The large circular main tower is behind the Hall entrance and the octagonal Library tower is at the east end of the gallery wing. The outer walls of the castle have full height slender turrets or bartizans at changes in direction and there are corbel tables supporting part of the battlements; arrow slots, and even a gatehouse garderobe. The roof is mainly flat, of asphalt, concealed by the crenellated parapet. The single-storey coach house makes early use of timber lattice roof trusses. Interior: The Porch leads to a screens passage with oak screen, in early Gothic style, and matching gallery rail above. The Great Hall has Minton Tile floor, large stone chimney piece and stone quadripartite ribbed vault supported by corbels with shields. The Long Gallery, (east) has oak panelling 1.8m high, a chimney piece in a wide arched recess, and a ceiling panelled by three longitudinal and six cross beams. The Long Gallery gives access to an irregular shaped Billiard Room with beamed ceiling (north) and the octagonal (tower). Library with oak linenfold bookcases (east) The Drawing Room (north) has an oak boarded floor, a wide stone fireplace. Gothic-headed door with ornamental strap hinges, plastered walls and beamed ceiling. The main staircase is behind the Hall. It has a light well pierced by shouldered-linteled openings vertically and horizontally in pairs. The circular tower, at the north-west corner, contains the octagonal Dining Room with Minton tile floor, two fireplaces, and vault of eight radial ribs running to a central boss. The room contains an Oak sideboard with carved "green men". Below the Dining Room the Wine Cellar is a circular tunnel vault from a short round pier. The Kitchens and Service rooms are south and west of this tower, extensive, unaltered and disused. The first floor nursery area has plastered walls with cornices, square-headed cross-braced oak doors with ornamental strap hinges and some plastered barrel-vaulted ceilings. The first floor gallery is above the Long Gallery and very similar in arrangement. The Racket Room at fifth floor level in the round tower, approached up a stone spiral staircase, has a boarded ceiling and originally had it's walls lined with boards. The root of this tower room is covered with block lead. The upper ceilings of the Bell Tower and Gatehouse are barrel-vaulted. The Castle can be regarded as a great Romantic house or as the last serious fortified home built in England, created as a refuge from the social disturbances of its time. Designed on a great scale with consummate skill, it was executed to the highest standards and is one of the great buildings of its age. Dr Jill Allibone Anthony Salvin (forthcoming).

Listing NGR: SJ5332658084

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

56862

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Allibone, J, Anthony Salvin Pioneer of Gothic Revival Architecture 1799-1881, (1987)

End of official list entry

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