Tabley House, Tabley Inferior, Cheshire East

Description

SJ 77 NW TABLEY INFERIOR (Off) CHESTER ROAD

6/64 Tabley House

5.3.59

G.V. I

House, now school. 1760-67 with C19 and C20 additions and
alterations. By John Carr with alterations by Thomas Harrison and
others. Red Flemish bond brick with stone dressings and green slate
roof with lead flashings. 3 storeys. Garden front (former entrance
front): 9 bays in A.A.A.B.C.B.A.A.A. rhythm. Rusticated stone
walling to ground floor. 3 central bays project forming base to giant
portico. All windows to ground floor have splayed voussoirs and 3 x 2
panes. The central window shows evidence of a previous doorway. To
either side of the projection are semi-circular stairs leading up to
the first floor portico, also with rusticated stone walling and
moulded balustrade. Giant Tetrastyle Doric portico,panelled plinths
and pilaster responds. Bucrania and roundels to metopes. Coat of
Arms to pediment with Rococo vegetation to either side. Simpler Doric
entablature to sides with plain metopes. Central first floor doorway
has architrave and segmental pediment supported on brackets, now
containing plate-glass sash window. Two segmental pedimented windows
to either side also with stone architraves. Three windows to either
side with triangular stone pediments and architraves, containing sash
windows of 3x 5 panes. The lowest band of panes was originally
walled in the form of a stone balustrade to each window (vide
Vitruvius Britannicus and a stone fillet runs across the brickwork at
the original level of the balustrade rail. The second floor windows
have shouldered stone architraves with paired scrolls to the centre
top and bottom, somewhat in the manner of those by Peruzzi at the
Palazzo Massimo, Rome.

To either side of the main block are 2-storey pavilion wings attached
to the rear of the house by single storey quadrant corridors. The
pavillions are of 3 bays with canted bay widows to the centre. Stone
plinths and quoins to the ground floor with stone entablatures. To
either side of each pavilion are single storey one-bay links
containing doorways with Gibbs surrounds. The pavilion may
originally have had circular open cupolas to their roofs (Vitruvius
Britannicus Rear facade (now entrance front): 7 bays. Rusticated
stone basement, slightly projecting central 3 bays with pediment over.
Central ground floor porch of 1915. Doorway within has bearded head
to keystone and half-glazed early C20 door. 2 sash windows of 3 x 2
panes to either side with narrower windows at extreme right and left
due to quadrant wings joining building. First floor: central venetian
window within rusticated stone relieving arch which connects to 2nd
floor central window with Peruzzian surround as on Garden Front. This
entire central feature and the other similar window surrounds to
either side at second floor level and the decoration of the pediment
appear to bedue to the 1915 aggrandisement of the facade when it
became the entrance front. The 2 first floor windows to either side
of the Venetian window have pediments, those to the left and right of
these have cavetto mouldings only. Quadrant wings of 3 bays with
central doorways. Side elevations of pavilion wings from sides to
entrance court and each have 4 bays with a central pediment.
Courtyard continues as single storey outbuilding to left and garden
wall to right with wrought iron gates. Matching facing pairs of
square gate piers of brick with stone caps with plain modillions with
guttae. These lead to pilaster-buttressed brick passageways at right
angles, with terminating pedimented archways with stone and
cement-rendered dressings by Robert Curzon c1830.

Side elevations: central canted bay windows. Arched windows to
gallery on west front first floor and blind window to central first
floor window of east front first floor (alterations of early C19).
C20 boiler chimney to right of east front with stone plinth.

Interior: Ground floor - sub-hall running east to west. Entrance at
east end canted bay. Screen of 2 Doric columns with 2 Doric
pilasters. 1/4-turn staircase with winders to left hand opening,
originally with matching right hand flight. Two further screens of 2
antae and pilasters supporting basket arches. The central arches
being wider. Billiard room to western end, with semi-circular bay,
originally forming a circular gun room. Entrance hall of c1830 to
north. First floor: original Entrance Hall behind portico on south
front, with plaster work by Thomas Oliver, 6 doorways each with
lugged and shouldered surrounds and Doric entablature with oval relief
panels above each. Doric fireplace to north wall with circular panel
over. Statues of Isis and Flora in circular headed niches. Doric
entablature to tops of walls with fleurs de lys and roundels to
metopes. Drawing room (originally dining room). 3 doorcases with
heavy cornices and Rococo carving. Fireplace has 3/4 Ionic columns
with variegated green marble infill to flutings and central tablet
with Dying Gaul in relief. Octagon or Common Parlour, canted bay with
fireplace to centre decorated with variegated marble inlaid in Gothick
patterns. Arched niches in angles opposite bay window. Doors have
Rococo carving to their cases. Dining room (formed from bedroom and
dressing room) has mid-C19 plasterwork to the ceiling and walls.
Lower staircase hall (originally dressing room and part of one
bedroom) walls of grey marble with white plaster panels in relief
after the antique, Venetian window has Ionic columns and pilasters.
Gallery (formed c1830 from drawing room, library, dressing room and
part of one bedroom), segmental arches dividing room into three.
Semi-circular arches to windows. Early Victorian panelling, shutters
and fireplaces with 1/4 circular moulding to sides. Staircase hall -
open well. staircase of 4 flights with 1/2 landings, turned balusters and
curtail. Wooden brackets to underside of landings by Shillitoe of
York. Ribbed ceiling with 2 lunette windows to each side and central
Rococo plaster cartouche. Upper landing has screen of 2 pairs of
Corinthian columns with pairs of I columns to the sides with I columns
and 1/4 columns to rear wall and corners. Triple doors to rear wall
with Rococo surrounds. Many of the second floor bedrooms and dressing
rooms have fine Rococo wooden fireplaces by Shillitoe and Bertram.

One of Carr's best houses, though somewhat altered, Tabley House
contains much fine craftsmanship and a wealth of detail from the later
years of Palladianism with some touches of the newer Neo-classicism in
the work of Oliver.

Sources Vitruvius Britan.nicus v.pls 16-19 where it is called
Oakland House
Country Life 21, 28 July 1923
English Country Houses : Mid Georgian, by
C Hussey 1956, pp 55-60

Listing NGR: SJ7255977752

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Tabley House

A Grade I Listed Building in Tabley Inferior, Cheshire East

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