Follow
Great Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England
Great Moreton Hall is a former country house in Moreton cum Alcumlow near Congleton, in Cheshire, England, less than a mile (1.6 km) from its better-known near namesake Little Moreton Hall. Designed by Edward Blore, it was built in 1841 by Manchester businessman George Holland Ackers, to replace a large timber-framed building that had been the home of the Bellot family since 1602. The house is designed in the style of a Palladian villa, except that the Great Hall is one of a number of rooms off a large central space, rather than being at the centre of the building. Great Moreton Hall is built in two storeys, interspersed with three and four-storey towers. The service wing to the left of and adjoining the main part of the building is slightly lower than the rest of the structure.
The main entrance is via a broad flight of steps from a porte-cochère, leading to the entrance lobby and a large central hall. A triple arcade at one end of the hall leads to the main staircase, opposite a hooded fireplace decorated with the arms of the Ackers family. The Library, Drawing Room, Billiard Room, Saloon, and the Great Hall are arranged symmetrically around the central hall. "Dark narrow internal corridors" allowed the servants, whose quarters were in the cellars, to reach all the rooms without having to pass through the central hall.
Great Moreton Hall was designated a Grade II* listed building on 14 February 1967. Since 1931 the house has served first as a school and then as a hotel and conference centre.
History
In 1606 John Bellot (Sherrif of Cheshire) was responsible for building a timber framed manor house called Moreton Magna and was built by the Lake which was the manorial fish pond and also boasted a mill and boat house. Moreton Magna would have looked quite in keeping with the other local Little Moreton Hall and along with a few houses at Brownlow formed Moreton Manor.
It was in the year 1814 that Moreton Magna was sold to George Ackers of Manchester. George was one of Lancashires early cotton and textile giants. He died in 1836 and left his estate and fortune to his 24 year old son George Holland Ackers a former Lieutenant-Colonel with the Queen's Own Royal Staffordshire Yeomanry.
In October 1840 Geroge approached Edward Blore, Architect to King William IV and Queen Victoria, his previous work was building Buckingham Palace and doing much work on Windsor Castle. After discussions and inspecting the quarries at Mow Cop which were the manor quarries just at the top of Roe Park, construction on the new hall began 300 yards south of the original Moreton Magna in 1841. The quarries at Mow Cop were to provide all the external stone for the hall and the other new buildings taht were to be built on the estate. The internal stone was Caen stone shipped over from France and made the journey along the Macclesfield Canal to the estates own private wharf.
The Lodge at Great Moreton Hall
In 1843 Ackers requested and funded the redirection of the the then busy turnpike road which was to form part of what is now the A34.
In 1844 the Hall was complete and then work began on the adjoining stable yard and clock tower. Once the family had moved in then Ackers had the old buildings on the estate including Moreton Magna were demolished.