Gazetteer of
British Place Names

Tabley Old Hall (or Nether Tabley Old Hall) is a ruined historic house near Knutsford, Cheshire. The hall is the ancestral home of the Leicester (or Leycester) family. The estate of Nether Tabley was acquired in the 13th century by the marriage of Sir Nicholas de Leycester to Margaret de Dutton. The first house on the site was a timber-framed hall built by John Leycester in about 1380 on an island created on the side of the lake by the excavation of a moat on one side. The family made many large scale alterations and extensions to the hall during the 17th century. Although the family moved to nearby Tabley House in the eighteenth century, the Old Hall was retained and initially used as a farmhouse. During the 19th century it was preserved with its original furniture as a library and museum. It was closed in 1914 due to damage caused by subsidence caused by brine extraction and part of the building collapsed in 1927. The building was abandoned and is now a ruin. The chapel was demolished and rebuilt near to the west front of Tabley House. The last member of the family, Colonel John Leicester Warren, died in 1975. He bequeathed the estate to the National Trust and, failing that, to a charity to be chosen by his executors. The National Trust refused the bequest, and the estate was acquired by the University of Manchester. In 2007 the estate, other than Tabley House itself and its pleasure gardens, was bought by the Crown Estate; this included the site of the old hall and its remains. The Cheshire volume of the 'Buildings of England' series states 'a few fragments of wall stand almost full height on the island, precariously propped up'. The old hall is included in the Heritage at Risk Register of English Heritage, its condition being described as 'very bad'. It is within the council area of Cheshire East.
Historic England Grade II* Listed 1139011.

Place Type: Historic House
Alternative name(s): Nether Tabley Old Hall
Historic County: Cheshire
Lat, Long: 53.292656,-2.421806
Grid Reference: SJ 7198 7738
Civil Parish: Tabley Inferior CP
Council Area: Cheshire East CA
Police Area: Cheshire PA

GBPN ID: 304818
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Tabley_Old_Hall,_Cheshire_304818

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