The Old Stable Block Peover Hall

PEOVER SUPERIOR C.P. PEOVER HALL PARK SJ 77 SE

5/69 The Old Stable Block, Peover Hall (formerly listed as C17 stable block at Peover Hall) 5 9 59

GV I

Stable block. Dated on inscribed panel to door lintel; "The Gift of Mrs Ellen Mainwaring/to her son/Thomas Mainwaring Esq/1654" with early/mid C18 first floor. Plum and red English bond brick with stone dressings and slate roof. Two storeys. Entrance front: moulded stone plinth and stone quoins to corners. Central doorway with moulded stone surround, four-centered arch and deep lintel with sunken inscribed panel to centre. Three 5-light windows to either side with moulded stone surrounds and mullions. First floor of lighter coloured brick, three circular pitch holes with plain stone surrounds. Kneelers to gable ends supporting finials with splayed lower bodies and pyramidal caps. Similar finials to gable apex (these kneelers, finials and the stone coping appear-to have been salvaged from the original single storey building and reused when the additional storey was built). A C20 addition adjoins to the left and the Coach House (q.v.) to the right. Rear: C18 addition of three gabled projecting wings of two storeys and single storey ranges of loose boxes between. The gabled projections each have a circular hole to the first floor, those to the sides being pitch holes and that to the centre the entry to a pigeon loft. Interior: Originally 16 stalls (the 3 to the extreme right having been bricked off and destroyed in a C19 alteration). The terminating posts to the stalls extend upwards forming columns and are joined longitudinally thus forming an elaborate screen. Each post has an octagonal pedestal supporting a Tuscan column with two astragal mouldings to the lowerbay and abacus above. Semi-circular arches spring from the upper body of each column and die into the cyma-moulded lintel. Projecting 'key stones' with pendants and three diamond-pointed panels to each side, open spandrels. Above the lintel are fluted consoles corresponding to the columns and 'key stones' below, with fretwork panels and modilion cornice between. Square posts to rear of stalls with arched braces. Panelled ceiling to front with strapwork and floral patterns in relief. The C18 upper storey reuses the C17 trusses of the C17 roof which have angle braces.

The form of the internal screen is similar in many of its details to the chapel screen at Cholmondeley Castle of 1655. The application of these details to a stable makes this one of the most lavish buildings of this date in Cheshire.

Listing NGR: SJ7733473400