View source for Peover Hall

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox historic site | name = Peover Hall| native_name = | image = Peover Hall.jpg| image_size = 250| caption = Peover Hall| locmapin = Cheshire | map_width = 250| map_caption = Location in Cheshire| alt =
| coordinates = {{coord|53.2581|-2.3422|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Peover Superior]], [[Cheshire]], England| gbgridref = SJ 772 735| area = | elevation = | formed = | founded = | built = | built_for = Sir Ralph Mainwaring| demolished = | rebuilt = | restored = | restored_by = | architect = | architecture = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = | designation1 = Grade II*| designation1_offname = | designation1_type = | designation1_criteria = | designation1_date = 5 March 1959| delisted1_date = | designation1_parent = | designation1_number = 1329813| designation1_free1name = | designation1_free1value = | designation1_free2name = | designation1_free2value = | designation1_free3name = | designation1_free3value = | designation2 = | designation2_offname = | designation2_type = | designation2_criteria = | designation2_date = | delisted2_date = | designation2_parent = | designation2_number = | designation2_free1name = | designation2_free1value = | designation2_free2name = | designation2_free2value = | designation2_free3name = | designation2_free3value = }}

'''Peover Hall''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|iː|v|ər}} {{respell|PEE|vər}}) is a country house in the [[civil parish]] of [[Peover Superior]], commonly known as Over Peover, [[Cheshire]], England.  It is recorded in the [[National Heritage List for England]] as a designated Grade&nbsp;II* [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed building]].<ref name=images>{{NHLE |num= 1329813|desc= Peover Hall, Peover Superior|accessdate= 11 September 2013|mode=cs2}}</ref>

==History==
The house was refaced in 1585 and was built for Sir Ralph Mainwaring.<ref name=pev>{{Citation | last1 = Hartwell | first1 = Clare |last2 = Hyde | first2 = Matthew |last3 = Hubbard | first3 = Edward | author3-link=Edward Hubbard (architectural historian) | last4 =Pevsner | first4 =Nikolaus | author4-link =Nikolaus Pevsner | series= The Buildings of England| title = Cheshire | publisher =[[Yale University Press]]| year =2011| orig-year=1971| location =New Haven and London| pages = 519–520| isbn =978-0-300-17043-6 }}</ref>  There have been alterations and additions to the house in around 1653–56, around 1764, around 1944 and in 1966. It was originally planned as an H-&nbsp;shaped house but this plan was abandoned around 1590.<ref name=images/>  In 1654 a stable block was built.  The alterations in the 1760s included a wing at a right-angle to the house (added c.1764), making it a T-shape, and a new stable block and coach house.  In 1919 the Mainwaring family sold the house to John Graham Peel and it was sold again to Harry Brooks in 1940.  During the [[World War II|Second World War]] the house was requisitioned and used by [[George S. Patton|General George Patton]] and his staff.<ref name=touruk/>  The hall was also used as a [[prisoner of war]] camp, and as a resettlement home for allied prisoners of war and for English people [[repatriate]]d after the [[partition of India]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/5304135.here-can-be-few-national-trust-houses-where-tourists-are-invited-to-take-the-weight-of-their-feet/|title=HERE can be few National Trust Houses where tourists are invited to take the weight of their feet.|website=www.warringtonguardian.co.uk|access-date=22 June 2021|date=20 May 1999}}</ref>  It was returned to the Brooks family in 1950.  The 1760s wing was in poor condition and was demolished in 1964, taking the house from 21 to 11 bedrooms, other modifications were made too, including a new entrance.<ref name=touruk>{{citation  |url=http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/house-cheshire-peover-hall.htm#text |title=Peover Hall |access-date=8 April 2008 |publisher=TourUK }}</ref>

==Architecture and contents==
The house is built in red brick with stone dressings and a tiled roof.  The early parts of the house are partly two-storeyed with [[gable]]s and partly three-storeyed with flat roofs. The windows are [[mullion]]ed and [[Transom (architectural)|transomed]].<ref name=images/> The house is roughly rectangular in shape with an entrance corridor which runs across its depth.  On the left of the corridor is a small sitting room which contains woodwork and furniture from the 16th&nbsp;century.  At the centre of the ground floor is the dining room which includes wooden [[pilaster]]s which were formerly in [[Horsley Hall, Gresford|Horsley Hall]], [[Clwyd]], and paintings and furniture from the 18th&nbsp;century. Also on the ground floor is the morning room in which is a set of bookcases from [[Oteley]], a seat of the Mainwaring family in [[Shropshire]]. On the first floor are the drawing room and 5 bedrooms.  The drawing room is in the centre of the building and contains early 18th-century panelling, 17th and 18th-century furniture, and another set of bookcases from Oteley.  On the top floor are 6 further bedrooms and the long gallery which contains antique furniture and toys.  The kitchen in the basement has two large fireplaces and it also contains [[Weapon|arms]] and [[armour]].<ref name=touruk/>

==Surrounding buildings and gardens==
{{main|Peover Hall Stable Block}}
The stable block is dated 1654 and is listed at Grade&nbsp;I. It contains [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]] style columns at the end of each stall and a decorated panelled ceiling.<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1335855|desc= The old stable block, Peover Hall, Peover Superior|accessdate= 11 September 2013|mode=cs2|fewer-links=x}}</ref>  It is built in red brick on a stone [[plinth]], with stone dressings and a slate roof.  It is in two storey and has nine bays.  On its roof is a [[cupola]] with a clock face.  The coach house is listed at Grade&nbsp;II.<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1329812|desc= The Coach House, Peover Hall, Peover Superior|accessdate= 11 September 2013|mode=cs2|fewer-links=x}}</ref>  Also listed at Grade&nbsp;II are [[ashlar]] gatepiers and [[wrought iron]] gates which came from [[Alderley Park]],<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1139315|desc= Gatepiers and gates circa 20 yards northeast of the old stable block, Peover Hall, Peover Superior|accessdate= 11 September 2013|mode=cs2|fewer-links=x}}</ref> and a [[mounting block]] dating from the mid 18th&nbsp;century.<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1139273|desc= Mounting block circa 15 feet northwest of the Coach House at Peover Hall, Peover Superior|accessdate= 11 September 2013|mode=cs2|fewer-links=x}}</ref>

The hall has a formal garden and stands in a [[Landscape garden|landscape park]].  The landscape park was probably landscaped by [[William Emes]] after the alterations to the house in 1764. The formal gardens were laid out between 1890 and 1905 for Sir&nbsp;Philip Tatton Mainwaring.  They were remodelled by [[Hubert Worthington]] during the 1920s, and were further developed from the 1960s by the Brooks.<ref>{{cite PastScape |mnumber= 1063915|mname= Monument No. 1063915|accessdate= 11 September 2013|mode=cs2}}</ref>  The gardens are listed at Grade&nbsp;II on the [[National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens|Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England]].<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1000643|desc= Peover Hall, Peover Superior|accessdate= 11 September 2013|mode=cs2|fewer-links=x}}</ref><ref>{{citation  |url=http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/landscapes/ukpg/sites/peoverha.htm  |title= Peover Hall|access-date=8 April 2008 |publisher=United Kingdom Database of Historic Parks and Gardens |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080210012849/http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/landscapes/ukpg/sites/peoverha.htm |archive-date = 10 February 2008}}</ref>   The gardens are open to the public at advertised times and tours of the house are available.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.stately-homes.com/areas/details.asp?HID=1207&ID=1288&path=12,16,57,1288&town= |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070509025633/http://www.stately-homes.com/areas/details.asp?HID=1207&ID=1288&path=12,16,57,1288&town= |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 May 2007 |title=Peover Hall |access-date=8 April 2008 |publisher=VIP Internet }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
*[[Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire East]]
*[[Listed buildings in Peover Superior]]
*[[St Lawrence's Church, Over Peover]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://archive.today/20121224060851/http://www.hha.org.uk/HHA/Property.aspx?id=580 Peover Hall - HHA page]
*[http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/peover.html Photographs by Craig Thornber]

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1585]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed houses]]
[[Category:Country houses in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Gardens in Cheshire]]