Tilstone Lodge

Tilstone Lodge is a house dating to circa 1832, designed by Thomas Harrison of Chester. It is constructed of stuccoed brick with ashlar dressings and a slate roof. The property has a main block to the right and a long service wing to the left. The entrance front features a porte cochere over the central three bays, supported by two pairs of unfluted, elongated Doric columns. Behind the porte cochere is a large tripartite window with double-glazed front doors, with a 2-light rectangular overdoor and side lights of 1 x 5 panes each. Panelled wooden surrounds the window and doors. There are sash windows of 3 x 4 panes to either side of the porte cochere, and three similar windows to the first floor, with the left-hand window now blind. A moulded string course runs between the floors and continues the cornice of the porte cochere. A recessed, blind half-bay is on the extreme right, and a recessed bay marks the beginning of the service wing to the left, which is lower than the main block. This bay has a porchway at ground floor level, with a 3 x 4 pane window above. Further to the left are three bays, each with 3 x 4 pane windows on both floors, followed by a lower continuation of the service wing with five scattered bays. On the right-hand side, a segmental bay has three pairs of French windows to the ground floor and three first-floor windows of 3 x 4 panes. A 20th-century iron trellis supports a balcony above. A mid-to-late 19th-century single-story addition of four bays is situated to the right, featuring semi-circular arched windows and panelled pilasters, with a hipped roof. The rear of the house has a central segmental bay with a triple-light window to the ground floor, incorporating a central pair of French windows and side lights of 1 x 5 panes. Tripartite windows are located to the right and left of this bay, with central lights of 3 x 4 panes and lateral lights of 1 x 4 panes. The three first-floor windows are each of 3 x 4 panes and rest on the string course. The service wing is on the right, and a single round-arched window, set between pairs of panelled pilasters, marks the end of the mid-to-late 19th-century addition on the left. The house was originally built for Admiral Tollemache (formerly Halliday) and served as the Cheshire seat of the Tollemache family before the construction of Peckforton Castle.