Though this concerns dereliction and decay it is also about re-use and rejuvenation so if not deemed suitable material can the mods please delete the post
Grappenhall Heys was an estate of around 150 acres just outside Warrington. Built by Thomas Parr around 1830. The Parr family were wealthy local bankers who had founded Parr & Company in 1788. Though they started in Warrington, the company grew to be a nationally known and important institution. In 1918 they merged with London County and Westminster Bank. The merged company was known as London County Westminster and Parr’s Bank until 1968 when they merged with National Provincial and became National Westminster Bank. The 1877 head office of Parr & Company is still used by Natwest and the family name can still be seen above the door. There are many other buildings around the country which were Parr's & Company branches. They were well known for having buildings of quality design and decoration.
Heavily cropped, the actual gold mirror finish is very clean if you go closer to look.
Back to the house that they had built.
After building up his land holdings Thomas had a house built on high ground overlooking the area. The house had a walled garden. This enclosed a kitchen garden and range of greenhouses and, unusually, a pleasure garden.
I thought I had a couple of postcards showing the house but can only find one
After 1941 the house was rarely used and British Transport Commission bought the estate. They sold off the farms and land and seem to have used the house and outbuildings for storage. In 1975 Warrington-Runcorn Development Corporation bought the house and demolished it. There is some evidence of a ha-ha and some sandstone steps between levels of the lawn terrraces (though the actual terraces are now wooded). The rough position of the house was marked with a few of the cornice stones but on my visits these were barely visible.
The site of the house and various pieces of woodland were given to The Woodland Trust to form areas of publicly accessible land within the rest of the estate which was earmarked for housing. The walled garden area was included in the area to be built on.
Enter the concerned locals who thought that the badly dilapidated walled garden should be retained and restored. After various changes to the Development Corporation name and purpose agreement was reached that the walled garden would be made safe. To this end the walls were stabilised and some landscaping done.
Pleasure gardens
kitchen garden is separated by the hedge
Kitchen Gardens
In 2005 the area was handed to the local council who manage it as a working community garden. At this point the greenhouses were in a very poor state. In 2013 a HLF award was made to restore the greenhouses. The award included provision for the sheds to be restored so that part of the range could be used as a cafe and part for plant propogation.
The week before restoration work started on the greenhouses.
Fourteen months later (winter, hence why the kitchen beds look bare)
Apologies for the quality of some of the photos. They are 'snapshots' from a couple of visits to the area.
Grappenhall Heys was an estate of around 150 acres just outside Warrington. Built by Thomas Parr around 1830. The Parr family were wealthy local bankers who had founded Parr & Company in 1788. Though they started in Warrington, the company grew to be a nationally known and important institution. In 1918 they merged with London County and Westminster Bank. The merged company was known as London County Westminster and Parr’s Bank until 1968 when they merged with National Provincial and became National Westminster Bank. The 1877 head office of Parr & Company is still used by Natwest and the family name can still be seen above the door. There are many other buildings around the country which were Parr's & Company branches. They were well known for having buildings of quality design and decoration.
Heavily cropped, the actual gold mirror finish is very clean if you go closer to look.
Back to the house that they had built.
After building up his land holdings Thomas had a house built on high ground overlooking the area. The house had a walled garden. This enclosed a kitchen garden and range of greenhouses and, unusually, a pleasure garden.
I thought I had a couple of postcards showing the house but can only find one
After 1941 the house was rarely used and British Transport Commission bought the estate. They sold off the farms and land and seem to have used the house and outbuildings for storage. In 1975 Warrington-Runcorn Development Corporation bought the house and demolished it. There is some evidence of a ha-ha and some sandstone steps between levels of the lawn terrraces (though the actual terraces are now wooded). The rough position of the house was marked with a few of the cornice stones but on my visits these were barely visible.
The site of the house and various pieces of woodland were given to The Woodland Trust to form areas of publicly accessible land within the rest of the estate which was earmarked for housing. The walled garden area was included in the area to be built on.
Enter the concerned locals who thought that the badly dilapidated walled garden should be retained and restored. After various changes to the Development Corporation name and purpose agreement was reached that the walled garden would be made safe. To this end the walls were stabilised and some landscaping done.
Pleasure gardens
kitchen garden is separated by the hedge
Kitchen Gardens
In 2005 the area was handed to the local council who manage it as a working community garden. At this point the greenhouses were in a very poor state. In 2013 a HLF award was made to restore the greenhouses. The award included provision for the sheds to be restored so that part of the range could be used as a cafe and part for plant propogation.
The week before restoration work started on the greenhouses.
Fourteen months later (winter, hence why the kitchen beds look bare)
Apologies for the quality of some of the photos. They are 'snapshots' from a couple of visits to the area.
