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Neville Malkin's "Grand Tour" of the Potteries
buildings north of the Potteries
next: Talke Cross
previous: Saxon crosses,
Sandbach
contents: index of buildings north of the Potteries
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No 31 - Half-Timbered Houses, Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced Sandbatch) gets its name from the Anglo-Saxon 'Sandbęce' meaning 'sandy valley-stream'. The settlement, mentioned in the Domesday Book, has held a market since the 16th century. Sandbach was a salt town, later silk and still has many old, interesting houses. The thatched Black Bear pub carries a date of 1634 |
Half-Timbered Houses, Sandbach
pen drawing by Neville Malkin -
June 1976
Half-Timbered Houses near the
memorial, Sandbach
Photo: © fotodiscs4u Nov 2006
licensed for further reuse
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"As
it is holiday time, I thought it would be interesting to write about a
few of the beautiful black and white buildings that abound only a
short distance from the Potteries. Cheshire is particularly rich in
this kind of building, and the ones I have drawn, which look like part
of a film set, stand on either side of an old cobbled road just behind
the parish church at Sandbach. While in Sandbach, it is worth noting
two other examples of black and white, both licensed premises. As you
enter from the south, there is the Old Hall, which has Jacobean
fireplaces, and on the corner of the old market square, the Black
Bear, dating from 1634. Near Congleton, the splendid 16th century Little Moreton Hall, one of Cheshire's real gems, is a mass of gables and overhangs, with a moat, gate-house, chapel, great hall, a collection of oak furniture, and a 75ft. long gallery that overhangs one wing. Midway between Congleton and Macclesfield is Gawsworth Hall, a black and white, or "magpie", house, dating from Tudor times. The windows look out over lawns and gardens, and there is a rare example of a tilting ground, covering an area 200 yds. by 60 yds. Still in Cheshire, there is Adlington Hall with its Tudor banqueting hall, and black and white portion. Nantwich is a town of great charm; it has Churche's Mansion, a picturesque half-timbered building with fine panelling dating from 1577, and, on the outskirts, the attractive gabled house known as Dorfold Hall which dates from 1616. The examples are far too numerous to mention them all, but if you happen to be in Chester, look out for Bishop Lloyd's Palace, a richly-carved half-timbered house of 1615. On the outside are figures of the bear and ragged staff, a dolphin, a lion, and an elephant and castle. There are carved panels including Adam and Eve in the Garden, Cain slaying Abel, and Bishop Lloyd's shield with the Legs of Man -he was Bishop of Man as well as Chester. And, of course, do not forget Ford Green Hall, Smallthorne, a fine half-timbered manor house, displaying a wealth of furniture and relics."
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next: Talke Cross
previous: Saxon crosses,
Sandbach
contents: index of buildings north of the Potteries
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