The Old Croft

The Old Croft is a house dating from 1895, designed by John Brooke for Richard Harding Watt, with a tower added in 1907 to designs by W Longworth. It is constructed with Flemish bond brickwork to the ground floor, roughcast render above and to the tower, and a red plain tiled roof. The building comprises a central range flanked by cross wings, with the tower projecting to the north. The principal rooms are positioned at the rear, with an entrance hall and staircase to the front and service areas within the tower.

The main entrance is centrally located within a heavy porch featuring balustrading and a leaded canopy. Above the door is a carved name and date. The exterior features a 2-light casement window to the right of the entrance, and narrower windows to the left. A tall 3-light stair window is positioned above to the left, and two 2-light casement windows to the right. Regular fenestration is seen in the left-hand gable, with aligned 3-light windows on both ground and first floors, and a moulded tie-beam in the apex. The right-hand gable has irregular fenestration, illuminating the service staircase, with windows of 1, 2, and 3 lights on the ground, first, and attic floors. Upper windows are leaded casements in moulded wood cases. A diagonal shaft marks a chimney to the right, with a further stack expressed in the left-hand gable. Overhanging eaves are present, with bargeboards in the gables.

The tower, added in 1907, projects to the right and features small, unaligned windows of 1 and 2 lights, as well as an irregular stepped parapet in a Mediterranean style. The garden front has a similar layout of a central range and flanking wings. A full-height canted bay window wraps around the corner of the right-hand wing, with a gable above and struts carrying bargeboards. This is mirrored by the left-hand wing, which terminates in paired gables over a 6-light casement window to the first floor. A stepped parapet and animal leadwork rainwater head suggest the influence of Richard Harding Watt. A sun-room is built out from the central range, with casement windows and part-glazed doors linking it to the main body of the house.

The interior was not inspected. Richard Harding Watt (1842-1913) was an amateur designer whose eccentric buildings have significantly shaped the townscape of Knutsford. He collaborated with professional architects to realise his ideas. Legh Road showcases a group of his houses, with The Old Croft representing a more conventional design. The architect John Brooke, known for his major work on the Manchester Royal Infirmary (in collaboration with Edwin Hall), is of local importance.