Crag Hall

Crag Hall is a house dating from circa 1815, constructed of brown sandstone blocks with ashlar quoins and dressings, and covered by a hipped grey slate roof. The house has two storeys, with five windows facing the front and three windows within semi-circular, full-height bays at each end. A raised, projecting tetrastyle Ionic portico with a rusticated base and three arched recesses provides access. A flight of nine stone steps is on the right side, and a flight of eight steps on the left, leading to a square entablature, and the portico is protected by iron railings. A pair of three-panel doors are flanked by round-headed, 13-pane recessed sash windows on either side. The central window above the portico is set within an ashlar case with a square entablature supported by console brackets. Lower-storey windows are 12-pane recessed sashes within ashlar cases, while upper-storey windows are 9-pane recessed sashes in similar surrounds. The semi-circular bays feature plain projecting ashlar bands at sill levels. Broad, boarded, open eaves are present.

The interior is of group value and contributes significantly to the building’s status. The main hall features lozenge flag paving and two niches, with double doors leading to a study (left), a drawing room (right), and a circular cantilevered stone staircase (at the rear), which has ornate cast-iron balusters. The study has a semicircular end, a small chimney piece with ornamental mirrors, and a door to a dining room. The dining room displays oak dado panelling (probably later), an Ionic chimney piece of black marble with a plain mantel, and a door to the staircase. The drawing room has a marble fireplace flanked by double doors on either side. A billiard room, with a staff door, is located in a rear wing. The rear staircase comprises three cantilevered stone flights and a glazed dome covers the main stairwell. The bedroom above the study, known as “Lady Derby’s” room, includes a good cast iron fireplace set within a Gothick timber surround. Finely made mahogany doors with six fielded panels are found throughout the principal rooms on both storeys. The plaster cornices are fairly simple.

Crag Hall was the residence of the proprietor of textile mills at Wildboarclough during the 19th century. The building appears on Greenwood's Map of Cheshire (published 1819), although detailing of the portico, roof, and staircase balustrade seems to be from approximately 15 years later. Cartographic depictions also appear on Swire and Hutchings and Bryant's maps of Cheshire (published 1830 and 1831).