Hawthorn Hall

Hawthorn Hall is a former country house in Hall Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. It originated in about 1610 as a timber-framed yeoman house for John Chavman of mnc. It was improved and encased in brick for John Leigh in 1698.[1] Its use changed in the 19th century, and in 1835 it opened as a homeless shelter school.[2] During the 1960s the house served as a private residence. The building has since been used as offices.[3] It is constructed in plum-coloured brick, with a Kerridge stone-slate roof, a stone ridge, and three brick chimneys.[3] Parts of the timber-framing can still be seen in the roof gables, and in an internal wall.[1] The plan consists of a long rectangle. The house is in 2½ storeys, and has a near-symmetrical north front. There are four gables with bargeboards and mace finials. Each gable contains a pair of wooden mullioned and transomed windows. In the centre is a doorway, flanked by plain pilasters, and surmounted by a segmental hood framing a cartouche containing the date 1698. At the top of the hall, above the door, is a small balustrade, behind which is a half-glazed lantern with a cupola and a weathervane. The south front is similar to the north front, although the door is not central. This door is flanked by fluted pilasters, and surmounted by a plaque with a lion rampant. The east front has two gables.[3] The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner comments that the house is "good to look at, though conservative for its date".[4] The house, together with parts of the garden walls, is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[3]

Hawthorn Hall c.1900