Colshaw Hall

Architects' drawing of Colshaw Hall

Colshaw Hall is a large house in Peover Superior, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] The house was built in 1903 and designed by the Chester architects Douglas and Minshull.[2] It is constructed in red brick with stone dressings and a slate roof. It has two storeys plus an attic.[1] Its architectural style is Tudor Revival. It was extended and altered by Percy Worthington in 1907.[3]

In the First World War the house was used as an auxiliary hospital, and during the 20th century it was damaged by fire, and parts of it were demolished.

In the early 1980s, the house was purchased by property/business entrepreneur, Raymond Slater who painstakingly restored the house keeping what was left of the original fixtures and fittings. The restoration included acquisition of the neighboring farm Merrydale from the notoriously thrifty Mr. Wainwright. This paved the way for the construction of a nine-hole golf course cleverly designed by golf professionals Dave Thomas and Hugh Lewis - a serial raconteur!; a system of alternative tees enabled 18 convincing holes to be played. Despite its proportions and not least, its private ownership the course was exceptionally well-specified including a full underground irrigation system and ground drainage (undertaken by contractor PE Goode of Goostrey). Slater invested heavily in the formal landscaping erecting a waterfall and an oriental garden complete with pagodas, stone Buddha's and several ponds filled with Koi carp (the entire stock disappeared subsequent to his departure to Guernsey, a theft rumored to be linked to a local farmer). Slater was ousted from his Chairman's position at Norwest Holst construction company by a team of unscrupulous and reputedly underhand business associates (headed by Philip Newbold with the assistance of Barry Seymour and Gordon Macdonald of accountancy behemoth KPMG in Guernsey), indeed Newbold allegedly bragged that "now that the boss has gone, I'm off to buy myself a Rolls Royce".

Slater headed off to the island of Guernsey inadvertently drawing his attention away from his main assets including Colshaw Hall; a gentleman by the name of Bernard Reynolds took up the caretakers position at the Hall and bizarrely authorized the demolition of a beautiful Victorian stable block (containing fine period ironmongery and brass-work door furniture) only to be replaced by an unsightly, red-brick office unit. As the 1990s recession took hold along with a trail of overly ambitious business decisions, Slater (formerly in the Times Rich List with an estimated wealth in excess of £200 million) was plunged into financial difficulties and made a spurious agreement to sell the Hall to a lady by the name of Valerie Edwards (Auntie to Martin Edwards of Manchester United FC fame), a swift, ill conceived 'flip' left the property in the hands of a sports management company possibly linked to the golfer Andrew "Chubby" Chandler; the house was used as offices. Regular, national TV screened interviews of sports personalities were undertaken around the fantastic swimming pool complex. In 2001 it passed into the ownership of David Irlam, of the haulage company James Irlam and Company. He restored the grounds to pasture, converted some of the outbuildings into residential accommodation for members of his family, and returned the house into a family home, in a condition as near as possible to its original state. Irlam also made the hall available for use by charities, but later decided to move out.[4] The hall is now available for hire for functions and for weddings, and is managed by members of the Irlam family.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England, "Colshaw Hall, Peover Superior (1139278)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 August 2012
  2. ↑ Hubbard, Edward (1991), The Work of John Douglas, London: The Victorian Society, p. 271, ISBN 0-901657-16-6
  3. ↑ de Figueiredo, Peter; Treuherz, Julian (1988), Cheshire Country Houses, Chichester: Phillimore, p. 226, ISBN 0-85033-655-4
  4. ↑ Mayoh, Emma (30 January 2013), "Colshaw Hall restored to its former grandeur", Cheshire Life, Warrington: Archant Community Media, retrieved 10 July 2013
  5. ↑ About Colshaw Hall and the Irlam family, Colshaw Hall, retrieved 10 July 2013

Coordinates: 53°15′57″N 2°19′40″W / 53.2658°N 2.3278°W / 53.2658; -2.3278

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