Located down some twisty and fairly small roads outside Congleton (there are several routes to get there so ours might have just been a back way in) is this beautiful Elizabethan house, National Trust owned, the site has the house and grounds to wander around and peruse.
This is one of my favourite places, I’m an Early modern historian by inclination and the black and white timber building makes me smile whenever I see it. My immediate family are from the area and growing up we knew the sight of old black and white timber buildings and metal fences that curve over at the top meant we were in Cheshire and near Nan & Grandad’s!
The undulation of the building is visible from the outside and you can feel it on the inside, the long gallery in particular feels like your in a funhouse!
The building has a central courtyard area in the middle and the wings wrap around, with access to each part and the gardens once you cross the bridge and walk through the main gate area.
It’s one of those places where you feel like you’ve stepped back in time, especially with rooms set up with original furniture and features and the signs of previous occupants and visitors with graffiti like carvings and apotropaic marks.
