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Peckforton Castle

Anthony Salvin buildingsCountry house hotelsCountry houses in CheshireGothic Revival architecture in CheshireGrade I listed buildings in Cheshire
Grade I listed housesHotels in CheshireHouses completed in 1850Mock castles in EnglandUse British English from September 2013
Peckforton Castle 2014
Peckforton Castle 2014

Peckforton Castle is a Victorian country house built in the style of a medieval castle. It stands in woodland at the north end of Peckforton Hills one mile (2 km) northwest of the village of Peckforton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The house was built in the middle of the 19th century as a family home for John Tollemache, a wealthy Cheshire landowner, estate manager, and Member of Parliament. It was designed by Anthony Salvin in the Gothic style. During the Second World War it was used as a hostel for physically disabled children. The Tollemache family used the castle for occasional gatherings, but otherwise it was unused until 1969. From 1969 to 1980 the castle was leased by the 4th Lord Tollemache to George W. Barrett, and it again became a private residence and closed to the public. The right wing and tower and the castle gardens were restored by Barrett, an American employed by the U.S. Government. His daughter Pascale's wedding was the first to be held in the chapel and a special decree had to be obtained by the Archbishop of Canterbury to legally hold Catholic weddings in the grounds of the castle. During the 1970s and 1980s it was used as a location for shooting films and television programmes. The castle was bought in 1988 by Evelyn Graybill, who converted it into a hotel. In 2006 it was purchased by the Naylor family, who expanded its use to include hosting weddings, conferences and other functions.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Peckforton Castle (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.1175 ° E -2.699 °
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Peckforton Castle

Horsley Lane
CW6 9TP
England, United Kingdom
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Website
peckfortoncastle.co.uk

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Peckforton Castle 2014
Peckforton Castle 2014
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Nearby Places

Peckforton
Peckforton

Peckforton is a scattered settlement (centred at SJ538564) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The settlement is located 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the north east of Malpas and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to the west of Nantwich. The civil parish covers 1,754 acres (710 ha), with an estimated total population of 150 in 2006. The area is predominantly agricultural. Nearby villages include Bulkeley to the south, Beeston to the north, Higher Burwardsley to the west, Spurstow to the east and Bunbury to the north east. The Peckforton Hills form the western part of the civil parish with high points at Peckforton Point (203 metres) and Stanner Nab (200 metres). They are the source of the Weaver and Gowy rivers. Part of Peckforton Woods, largely planted in 1922, form a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The hills have been quarried since the Roman era. Peckforton appears in the Domesday survey of 1086. The earliest surviving buildings date from the early 17th century. Peckforton and the adjacent Beeston were part of an estate purchased by John Tollemache, Lord Tollemache in 1840. He had Peckforton Castle – a Victorian mansion designed by Anthony Salvin in imitation of a medieval castle – built at the northern end of the Peckforton ridge. Many of the local buildings were constructed for Lord Tollemache using brick in the 1860s and 1870s as part of the Peckforton Estate.

Bickerton Hill
Bickerton Hill

Bickerton Hill refers to two low red sandstone hills that form the southern end of the Mid Cheshire Ridge in Cheshire, north-west England. The high point, Raw Head, lies on the northerly hill and has an elevation of 227 metres. Parts of the southerly hill are also known as Larkton Hill. There is evidence of settlement on the hills dating as early as the Neolithic or Bronze Age. The earthworks of an Iron Age hill fort, Maiden Castle, are located on the summit of the southerly hill; they are a Scheduled Monument. The hills have been quarried and mined for copper since the 17th century, and a grade-II-listed engine house chimney remains as a remnant of the mining industry. Several caves occur in the sandstone, some of which have a history of habitation. The Sandstone Trail, a long-distance footpath, runs along the ridge, and the area is popular with walkers. A large area of the southerly hill is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its biological importance; much of this hill is owned by the National Trust. Its summit plateau has an extensive area of lowland heath, a rare habitat in Cheshire, and one that is particularly important for reptiles. A substantial population of lobed maidenhair spleenwort, a fern that is rare in Britain, is found here. Nationally scarce species observed in the area include the bleached pug and alder kitten moths, and the Malthus frontalis species of soldier beetle. The western escarpment of the northerly hill has also been designated an SSSI for its exposed Triassic sandstones.