Oakfield (Headquarters Of Chester Zoo)

Oakfield, the headquarters of Chester Zoo, was originally a large house that has been converted into offices and a restaurant. The short wing was built around 1885 by E A Ould, while the rest of the building was reconstructed in 1892 by H Beswick for B Chaffers Roberts, with some alterations made in the 20th century. The structure features English garden wall bond Ruabon brick with blue brick diapering and red sandstone dressings, topped with a Welsh slate roof and four brick chimneys styled in a Tudor manner.

The building is two and two-and-a-half stories tall with a four-bay west front. The left two bays are the earlier sections, showcasing a canted, castellated two-storey bay window with mullioned and transomed windows above, set in coped and finialled dormers. To the right, there is a projecting gabled porch with a shaped and coped gable topped with a griffin finial, and a doorcase featuring a basket-arched head. The remaining windows have similar designs but include basket-arched and ogee heads for the lights. The longer south garden front displays a similar style with three different projecting coped gabled sections.

Inside, the boardroom is adorned with fielded mahogany panelling and a carved wooden frieze, complemented by a wooden fireplace flanked by fluted pilasters and egg and dart moulding. Some stained glass windows are in the style of Burne Jones. Although the staircase has been removed, an arcade and balustrading remain on the upper floor. A room to the left of the hall features fielded mahogany panelling divided by pilasters, a pedimented doorcase with an acanthus frieze, a panelled ceiling, and a massive chimney breast with a motto on the bressumer, along with a Tudor-style stone fireplace decorated with De Morgan tiles.

The estate was purchased by George Mottershead in 1930 to accommodate his private animal collection, which eventually led to the establishment of the North of England Zoological Society in 1934 and the creation of the present zoo, now the second largest in Britain.