Booths Hall

Summary

A brick country house built in 1745 for Peter Legh, with an 1845 extension and an 1858-1860 extension and remodelling in an Italianate style by Edward Habershon for John Pennington Legh.

Reasons for Designation

Booths Hall, Knutsford, of 1745 for Peter Legh, extended in 1845, and again in 1858-1860 by Edward Habershon for John Pennington Legh, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a small mid-C18 country house extended and remodelled in a distinguished Italianate style, demonstrating fine craftmanship in the brickwork and stone detailing of each phase
* for Habershon’s SE extension of 1858-60 with its unusual and well-preserved first-floor conservatory with curved glass roof;
* for the good survival of interior features and decoration from all three building phases using high-quality materials and demonstrating a high degree of craftmanship;
* Edward Habershon was a well-regarded London architect with several listed buildings to his name.

History

The Legh family had a long association with the Booths Hall estate (also known as Norbury Booths), building a moated, timber-framed house in the C14. In 1744 Peter Legh (1723-1804) married Anne Wade (1724-1794), an heiress, and in 1745 they built a new house about 210m north-west of the original house. John Garlive (or Gatlive) is suggested as the architect, although origins of the attribution are unknown. During the 1760s the office of Robert and James Adam was commissioned to produce an unknown number of designs of which that for a drawing room fireplace survives, although it does not appear to have been executed. A 1794 engraving shows a Palladian style house with elevations of two and three storeys over a basement. The north-east garden facade of six bays had a triangular pediment over two projecting central bays with two bays to the left and a two-storey semi-circular bow to the right. It was described as “a plain house, built of brick and stone”. The tithe map published in 1847 but apparently surveyed earlier, is sketchy but shows this house with a central recess to the south-west front elevation and a projection relating to the pedimented centre of the garden façade. A separate T-shaped ancillary building stood to the immediate east. An icehouse is shown close by to the south, labelled on subsequent Ordnance Survey maps.

In 1845 the hall was enlarged by Peter Legh (1794-1857), a grandson. The architect is unknown but Peter Legh had an interest in classical architecture, in 1831 publishing a book of essays on the principles of the beauty and perfection of architecture with reference to Vitruvius, a copy of which was purchased by John Soane for his library. An engraving of 1850 shows a full-height and full-width five-bay extension had been made at the north-west end projecting two bays beyond the original bow. A second engraving shows the drawing room in this extension, in a refined classical style with a frieze and enriched mantelpiece that remain in situ.

Upon Legh’s death in 1857 the hall was inherited by his nephew, John Pennington Legh (1827-1894), who appears to have quickly started work on alterations to designs by London architect Edward Habershon. On 15 June 1858 an organ suitable for “a large Music Room or Casino” was advertised for sale in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph with the instruction “Visitors are particularly requested not to approach the House, as from the scaffoldings, &c., injury might soon check any careless intruder.” Then on 19 August 1859 an extensive sale of furniture, including the unsold organ, was advertised in the Macclesfield Courier & Herald “all of which have to be removed to give additional room for the extensive alteration and improvements now progressing”. A rainwater hopper is dated 1859. The house was only occupied by a few staff in the 1861 census, but the following year the family was resident. The south-east end was extended with the addition of two full-height bays to the front elevation and a lower service range to the rear attached to the previously separate ancillary building, with a new end entrance recessed between a projecting room and first-floor conservatory and the service range. The hall was given an Italianate makeover with balustraded parapet, large portico and stone detailing to elevations, windows were given plate glass sashes. Interior alterations were also made, with a new main staircase and the combining of the two ground-floor rooms in the north west extension with the additions of a columned screen and a coved ceiling to the smaller room, resulting in the raising of two first-floor windows on the front elevation. Decorative features such as door architraves and fireplaces were updated alongside earlier features.

In 1917 the Legh family auctioned the hall and estate in a large number of lots. The hall and land forming the present park were purchased by Arthur William Cowburn, a Manchester chemical merchant. Aerofilm photographs from 1950 show that the ancillary building attached at the east corner had been truncated in size, although it continued to be shown as a larger building on OS maps over the following decades.

In 1955 the site was leased as the headquarters of the Nuclear Power Plant Company (NPPC). During the 1980s temporary office buildings, and then a large group of five square, three-storeyed, flat-roofed office blocks and covered walkways (the latter since removed) were built to the immediate north-east of the hall. It changed hands again in 2004. Following refurbishment the hall is presently (2025) used as rentable office spaces.

Details

Country house. 1745 for Peter Legh, 1845 extension, 1858-1860 extension and remodelling by Edward Habershon for John Pennington Legh.

MATERIALS: orange brick, mostly Flemish bond, with sandstone ashlar dressings and basement, with slate roofs.

PLAN: rectangular plan for the house, with L-plan east extension with an octagonal turret. Rooms are arranged at ground floor around a spinal corridor opening off the entrance hall and at upper-floor landings with narrow central wells under lanterns.

EXTERIOR: the house is two-storey with partial basement, plinth, modillion eaves cornice and a balustraded parapet. Hipped roofs with seven tall brick stacks (four to the front and three to the garden elevation) that have stone cornices, also originally with modillions (1955 schedule of condition survey); flat-roofed centre with roof lanterns. Windows have one-over-one pane horned sash frames.

The front elevation is symmetrical with a basement to the central part and an attic floor with balustraded areas and balustraded parapet. A large, stone portico projects from the recessed centre flanked by two pairs of bays progressively stepped out. Brickwork and pointing of the centre and two bays on each side is particularly fine, whilst the bricks to the outer two bays (the later extensions) are slightly rougher, noticeably to the right-hand bays. Portico has paired Tuscan columns on high pedestals with entablature and balustraded parapet over a central round-arched entrance with narrow round-headed openings to each side, and the returns. Inside are decorative encaustic floor tiles with a large entrance doorway and glazed side apertures to rear. Above is a central stone niche and two first-floor windows. Ground-floor windows to each side of portico have ramped and lugged stone surrounds. The first-floor windows have ramped surrounds with console sills and moulded cornices, except for the first and second bay windows which have no cornices and brickwork patching beneath showing that they have been raised. The two basement windows to right of the portico have six-over-six pane un-horned sashes. Those to the left have been bricked up.

The symmetrical north-west end elevation has a central slightly projecting, stepped chimneybreast with ground-floor stone niche, side consoles and stack also with consoles. The two outer bays have glazed French doors with rectangular overlights set in frames with pilasters and entablatures, linked vertically by panelled aprons to windows with panelled pilasters, plain lintels and moulded sills. The smaller first floor windows of the inner bays have moulded ramped and lugged stone surrounds and moulded console sills.
The north-east garden elevation is of four bays to left, a large, semi-circular bow and two bays to right. Ground- and first-floor windows have similar stone surrounds as those to the front elevation. The bow has a stone, pierced-circle balustrade, central French door and window set in a projecting, stone surround with pilasters of banded rustication and door entablature, side consoles to window surround and a console sill. Doorway has stone steps, double, panelled and glazed doors and a rectangular overlight. To each side in bow is an over-sized ground-floor window and first-floor window. To the immediate right is an iron downpipe with a hopper dated 1859. The two right-hand bays have over-sized ground-floor windows with dentil cornices to the lugged and ramped surrounds. First-floor window surrounds have square upper corner details. In front of first to fourth bays is a stone balustraded area (now flagged over with diamond-set flags).

At left-hand corner is a single-storey extension (service range) with stone parapet and basement. A doorway with stone surround is reached by a balustraded stone bridge over the area, the balustrading continuing in front of the two windows with stone surrounds. Behind the parapet is a pyramidal roof. A round-headed basement doorway has shaped voussoirs and timber and glazed door, with shallow area steps to left. Behind extension are two first-floor windows, chimney and stack and projecting from left-hand corner is a two-storey outshot with stone parapet. An octagonal turret at the left-hand outer corner has balustraded parapet and leaded cupola roof with decorative, timber louvres projecting on each face and weathervane finial. Ground-floor windows have moulded stone surrounds with console sills. First-floor windows have plain, ramped surrounds with console sills and are bricked up. A doorway with concrete lintel has been inserted into the turret.

The south-east end elevation is irregular with two-storey extension to the left and recessed original two-storey end wall to right. Projecting to left is a two-bay ground-floor room with a first-floor conservatory. The conservatory has a timber frame of panelled pilasters with glazing between and a curved, glazed roof. To the right is a round-headed archway over stone steps and a recessed entrance doorway. Projecting to right is two-bay, single-storey extension (service range). Both projecting extensions have stone plinths, window surrounds, lintel bands and moulded cornices. Wrapping round right-hand outer corner is a single-storey lean-to built in browner brick with the octagonal turret at the right-hand end. The turret faces on this side have been rebuilt also using the browner brick.

INTERIOR: Although much interior fabric is of the 1860s phase, features from the mid-C18 house and the 1845 phase include moulded skirtings, moulded and enriched door architraves with panelled reveals and soffits and six- and four-panelled doors, some fielded, wall panels to public areas, enriched marble mantelpieces and granite mantelpieces to fireplaces, and moulded or enriched cornices to the main ground- and first-floor rooms.

ENTRANCE HALL with enriched, coffered ceiling, decorative encaustic floor tiles, fireplace and round-headed arcade opening into the spinal corridor, also with encaustic floor tiles (re-laid) and fireplace. The full-depth NORTH-WEST ROOM, created in the remodelling of 1858-60, has a screen with fluted pilasters and columns with Corinthian capitals raised on high pedestals, coved ceilings to each side with enriched entablatures and ceiling roses. There are two marble mantelpieces, that in the larger space (formerly the 1840s drawing room) is the finely carved one shown in the 1850 engraving, enriched with acanthus leaf detailing to outer pilasters and inner colonettes and an unusual relief carving on the fireplace which incorporates dog-headed rhyton (drinking containers from ancient Greece). The delicate classical frieze and coved ceiling is also retained from the 1840s scheme. The BOW ROOM has a marble mantelpiece, wall panelling, acanthus leaf cornice and oval ceiling plasterwork with two particularly fine enriched door architraves with fielded six-panelled doors. The EAST ROOM has dentil cornice and ceiling plasterwork. At a later date, maybe the early C20, it has been partly panelled with inbuilt cupboards, door of two fielded panels and stone mantelpiece carved with fruit and flowers.

At the north-west end of corridor is the main, open well STAIRCASE of 1858-1860 which rises to the landings with a half landing to north-west mezzanine rooms over the coved room. It has swept timber handrail with round newel top supported by a putto, timber steps with carved string treads and black iron balusters enriched with foliate decoration. Similar balusters with a timber handrail are used around the first-floor landing well and turned timber balusters with handrail around the second-floor well. The roof lantern has lunettes and ribs springing from corbels to a flat ceiling with octagon centre and plaster decoration.
At the south-east end of the corridor, behind a panelled timber and glazed screen with fluted pilasters and entablature, is an earlier (perhaps second phase) TIMBER STAIRCASE also rising to second floor. It has moulded string treads, swept handrail, fluted colonette newel and chamfer and stopped stick balusters (all painted white).
Beyond the screen the east corner room (1858-1860, presently sub-divided) has wide chimneybreast for a kitchen fireplace (shown with range in 1955 photograph). There is a C19 servants’ bell system on the wall.

First-floor landing has fireplace and enriched glazed screen with putti separating the south-east staircase. The room above the entrance (known as the BILLIARD ROOM) has a coved ceiling with delicate neoclassical plasterwork pattern to coving and ceiling. Moulded skirting and dado rail. Moulded wall panels with a swag and cartouche detail over an enriched mantelpiece. The two doors off the landing have enriched door architraves with fluting, cornices on canopies (1955 photograph indicates that the doors in end walls are more recent insertions).
At the south-west end double glazed doors open from room into first-floor CONSERVATORY with encaustic floor tiles and heated plant benches with pieced covers.

On the second floor some roof beams are visible in the rooms.

BASEMENTS. A high basement beneath the original house, extended by partial basement beneath the south-east extension. The C18 staircase below the south-east staircase is timber with a closed string, turned balusters, colonette newel post and heavy, moulded handrail (probably later in date). Central corridor has diamond-set stone flags with rooms with stone flagged floors opening off, some with barrel vaults and brick and stone storage benches and recesses. Curved room beneath the bow has brick floor and brick rack of storage recesses. Against the north-east outer wall is the remains of a small, stone spiral staircase originally leading up to ground floor. Two fireplaces with timber mantelpieces, and possibly others blocked. The original wide, outer doorway at south-east end of corridor has studded outer face with three leaves of wood planks, iron bolt and formerly a lock. The later basement has a brick floor.

Sources

Books and journals
Aikin, J, A Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty Miles round Manchester, (1795), 424-425
De Figueiredo, P, Treuherz, J, Cheshire Country Houses, (1988), 217-218
Twycross, E, The Mansions of England and Wales, v5 The County Palatine of Chester, containing the Hundreds of Nantwich, Bucklow and Macclesfield , (1847-1850), 66-68

Websites
Historic England Aerofilms Collection, Booths Hall, Knutsford, flown 16 September 1950, Flight: AFL 19500916, numbers EAW032705-709., accessed 5 November, 2025 from https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/

Other
Booths Hall, Knutsford, Schedule of Condition March 1955, Meller, Speakman & Hall, Chartered Surveyors, 1 Cooper Street, Manchester (held by Bruntwood).

End of official list entry

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