Bramall Hall
 Stately Homes |
Bramall Hall is a charming Elizabethan half-timbered house, much restored by the Davenport family in 1819, but still containing original parts from the 15th century. Internally, this delightful house is noted for its remarkable wall paintings of beasts and demons in the ballroom. The Paradise Room contains fine examples of 16th century plasterwork. Bramall Hall is beautifully set-off by the magnificent gardens, lakes, lawns and woodland in which it is situated.
Lying to the south-west of Bramall Hall is Knutsford, an attractive town with narrow streets and old black-and-white houses. Knutsford was the 'Cranford' of Mrs Gaskell's novel of the same name. She was married in 1832 in the 18th century parish church, and her grave lies behind the 17th century Unitarian chapel. Tatton Hall, built about 1800, was the home of the Egerton family and houses a fine collection of furniture, pictures, china, silver and glass. It is surrounded by 54 acres of formal gardens and woodland laid out by Humphry Repton (1752-1818), and is one of the National Trust's most visited properties. Nearby, is the giant radio telescope of Jodrell Bank. The enormous 250ft radio telescope dish towers above the modern astronomy centre. There is a Planetarium open to the public, with displays on satellite communications and weather monitoring, and inter-active working space models.
A little to the east of Bramall Hall is Marple, a delightful riverside town situated in a rocky, wooded ravine, where the houses cling to the river banks or perch on the hilltop. A flight of 16 locks and a three-arched aqueduct takes the Peak Forest Canal over the River Goyt. A fascinating, curling 'snakebridge' allowed horses across the canal from one side to the other without untying the towrope. Marple is an ideal centre from which to undertake woodland and moorland walks, both of which offer dramatic Peak District views.