Alderley Park: Difference between revisions
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
==History== |
==History== |
||
The Alderley Park estate came into the hands of the Stanley family in the sixteenth century. |
The Alderley Park estate came into the hands of the Stanley family in the sixteenth century, when Sir Thomas Stanley purchased the manor of Nether Alderley and other lands from Sir Edward Fitton of Gawsworth for £2,000. <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/hs1864/alderley.htm| title = Stanley of Alderley|accessdate = 2012-10-10}} </ref>. He then built and moved into [[Alderley Old Hall|a hall]] in the north of the park. Several generations of Stanleys subsequently occupied the hall but following a severe fire in 1779, the 7th Baronet commissioned a new hall in 1818 to be constructed in the south of the park on a site then occupied by Park House. |
||
The new hall was subsequently occupied by several generations of the family until 1931, when it was damaged in the fire during the occupation of [[Edward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley]] and had to be partially demolished and left unoccupied. The sixth Lord's finances had suffered from the effects of two expensive divorces, gambling losses and death duties and in 1938 he decided to sell the estate piecemeal, involving the disposal of 77 farms and 166 houses. No offers were received for the hall itself and it stood empty for nearly twenty years. |
The new hall was subsequently occupied by several generations of the family until 1931, when it was damaged in the fire during the occupation of [[Edward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley]] and had to be partially demolished and left unoccupied. The sixth Lord's finances had suffered from the effects of two expensive divorces, gambling losses and death duties and in 1938 he decided to sell the estate piecemeal, involving the disposal of 77 farms and 166 houses. No offers were received for the hall itself and it stood empty for nearly twenty years. |
||
Revision as of 11:37, 11 October 2012
Alderley Park was a country house in a park of the same name at Nether Alderley, Cheshire, between Macclesfield and Knutsford. It is now an Astrazeneca research facility.
The house was constructed in brick with a stone facade for the 7th Baronet Stanley. Building started in 1818 on a site in the south of the park. The new house grew to a size of sixty bedrooms and six entertaining rooms, of which only one room, with its oak panelling and coats of arms intact, remains. Behind the house a walled garden and a water garden were created and the mill pond enlarged. In 1931, however, the house was severely damaged by fire and left empty for nearly twenty years until converted in 1950 by the ICI chemical group to serve as the headquarters of their new pharmaceutical division. It is currently a research and development campus for Astrazeneca. The gardens and some outbuildings have been preserved and many thousands of trees planted.
History
The Alderley Park estate came into the hands of the Stanley family in the sixteenth century, when Sir Thomas Stanley purchased the manor of Nether Alderley and other lands from Sir Edward Fitton of Gawsworth for £2,000. [1]. He then built and moved into a hall in the north of the park. Several generations of Stanleys subsequently occupied the hall but following a severe fire in 1779, the 7th Baronet commissioned a new hall in 1818 to be constructed in the south of the park on a site then occupied by Park House.
The new hall was subsequently occupied by several generations of the family until 1931, when it was damaged in the fire during the occupation of Edward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley and had to be partially demolished and left unoccupied. The sixth Lord's finances had suffered from the effects of two expensive divorces, gambling losses and death duties and in 1938 he decided to sell the estate piecemeal, involving the disposal of 77 farms and 166 houses. No offers were received for the hall itself and it stood empty for nearly twenty years.
In 1950 the dilapidated hall and some 350 acres (140 hectares) of surrounding parkland were purchased, with planning permission to develop, by ICI Pharmaceuticals for 55,000 pounds. Work began in 1957 on a site by Radnor Mere (the enlarged mill pond) to provide office and laboratory facilities, initially for ICI and latterly for Astrazeneca, and which now house some 3,500 staff. It is a global lead centre for cancer research and a number of anti-cancer treatments that have been developed at the site including Nolvadex, Zoladex, Casodex, Arimidex and Iressa.
Work on the latest Alderley Hall began in 1963, and incorporates a surviving part of the previous building. Originally the ballroom, this part is now named the Sir James Black Conference Centre in honour of the discoverer of beta-blockers. The gardens and the woodlands have been restored and the nearby Grade II listed Home Farm buildings preserved. The latter includes coach-houses, cottages and barns of hand-made English orange brick and a six-sided Columbarium or Dovecote.
References
- "Alderley Park/The Stanley family". Nether Alderley Parish Council. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- "Stanley of Alderley". Manx Notebook. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
External links
53°16′16″N 2°13′59″W / 53.271°N 2.233°W
- ^ "Stanley of Alderley". Retrieved 2012-10-10.