Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
‘Heaton (Hall), the seat of Lord Grey de Wilton, about four miles from Manchester, is beautifully situated on an eminence in a rich park. This truly elegant seat was built from a design of Wyatt.’ John Aitken, 1795. James Wyatt was one of the great architects of his day and Heaton Hall is one of his masterworks. It’s been described as ‘the finest house of its period in Lancashire and one of the finest in the country’. It is not generally open to the public at the moment so we booked a tour with Jonathan Schofield who wrote the terrific 'My Guide To Manchester', one of the best guides imaginable. He does a tremendous number of different tours and is as funny and knowledgeable in real life as the Guide would imply. See Jonathan Schofield. We had quite a walk from one of the car parks to the House as the park is the biggest municipal park in Europe. We got there just in time. Jonathan started off by walking us all around the outside (a good thing to do) and enlightened us as to the House's history and its architecture. The building, given its Grade I listing in 1952, was constructed in stages—and certainly makes a profound impression on the eye. James Wyatt; a man known by many in his time as one of the country’s leading Gothic Revival architects, was responsible for many important buildings including Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire—created for the author of the novel Vathek, William Beckford. However, Wyatt was also recognised for his Neoclassical designs—and set to work on the design of Heaton Hall in 1772, for Sir Thomas Egerton.Who was Sir Thomas Egerton? He was a descendant of Sir John Egerton, the man who married into the Holland family in 1684; this being the family that had owned the Heaton estate since the mid-17th century. There had even been a previous Heaton Hall in place before the one seen today! However, in 1772 Sir Thomas Egerton decided he wanted a more fashionable, tasteful, and up-to-date place to live—and hence his decision to choose Wyatt, one of the leading and most fashionable architects of his day, to create a new pile set within significant grounds. Jonathan was incredibly knowledgeable about Greek and Roman myths and had full opportunity to roam far and wide talking about the inset sculptural panels. This type of design takes its inspiration from Classical architecture from Italy and further afield, a style that throughout eighteenth-century Britain had been revived in quite distinct ways. The Heaton Hall that can be seen today is the product of later and more informed interpretations of Classical architecture. It places an emphasis on light decorative ornament informed by ancient classical sights, but also imaginatively recomposed; on the outside this is monochromatic, but changes in light and shade create movement; on the inside Wyatt, the Georgian architect, deployed these forms in a colourful, yet pastel, one could say Wedgwoodian palette. This was a country house just as much about entertaining as it was education—and a number of the design features of the building indicate that was primarily a building used for parties and guests! The colonnaded wings mean that all the rooms are connected, making it easy for guests to pass through and circulate. In addition, the downstairs dining room is located intentionally close to the kitchen—whilst many buildings of his time still had their kitchens and dining rooms at a distance from each other, meaning that food was often cold by the time it was served! The design of Heaton Hall allowed for piping hot food to be quickly transferred from the kitchen and put onto serving tables in the dining room. not any more as the kitchen wing was burnt out in an arson attack a few years ago. The picture (below) shows the typical country house 'enfillade' joining all the rooms Another engaging feature of downstairs is the 18th-century chamber organ that fills a whole wall in the Music Room (below), built by Samuel Green in 1790 and complete with a beautifully ornate case with decoration from Biagio Rebecca, the respected Italian artist. The room itself is resplendent in detailed plasterwork, created by the Joseph Rose II of York firm. Original artwork and furnishings still exist in many parts of the building, with a number of features thanks to Gillow's of Lancashire; the craftsmen behind the sturdy mahogany doors, for example. Talking about the family's interests Jon made it clear that the whole house was in one sense designed around the Music Room which was central to their life. The central staircase is a magnificent example of the use of Coalbrookdale iron working. As is a usual feature of Classical design, an attention to symmetry is clear throughout the building—with doorways mirroring each other in a number of places. Yet it is also sensitive to its position in the landscape, and long, floor-length windows throughout much of the ground floor indicate a desire to highlight the building’s proximity to nature—looking out over landscaped gardens, intentionally designed in awareness of the views out to the Pennine hills. In fact the best place for a view was, on Jonathan's recommendation, the Observatory....... from where modern Manchester is clearly visible, as well as 360 degree views from Cheshire to the Pennines. In the end it was the encroachment of industrial Manchester that led the family to move out to one of their other homes. Oh to be landed rich!
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August 2023
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