Shell Cottage today stands as a focal point in the informal gardens, south of Adlington Hall, this site has a long history and records show that in 1727 six hot beds were built. This is a very early use of glass frames and shows Adlington had a sophisticated garden from at least the early 18th century.

In 1758 a payment was made to Mr Lyon charles Legh’s builder for building the greenhouse and making the shutters. This is the Cottage much as we see it today on the outside. It was designed with the front inspired by classical architecture that served the garden aesthetic, and the back to look like a rustic cottage that backed onto the wilderness.

During the 1820’s it was considered a suitable activity for ladies of the house to occupy themselves in shell decoration.

The tradition of adding to the decoration was continued until the 1920s and revived in the 1960s so there was never an overall plan of decoration. The restoration of Shell Cottage reflects this random approach.

Prior to the restoration by Blott Kerr Wilson, little of the original decoration was left in Shell Cottage.

The original materials had been safely stored for years until the present head gardener Anthony O’Grady painstakingly cleaned and sized the minerals ready for the day that the little shell house would be restored. There were very few of the original shells and pieces of glass/mirror that were worth saving.

I believe that nearly all the original materials used in this shell house would have been found or sourced locally. Indeed, Camilla Legh, the current owner says:

“During the 1970s and 1980s my father Charles Legh collected shells from all over the Caribbean, from Barbados, Antigua, Trinidad, Tobago and many other islands.

My mother Jane Norton has also collected and bought shells whilst visiting many of the Caribbean islands, Granada, Nevis, Antigua, Tobago and Virgin Gorda, and many European Islands.

My shell collection was considerably smaller but Blott has been able to include all our shells in her new design.”

Originally, the majority of the shells were local to the Irish Sea and probably came directly from the kitchen waste or were collected by the Leghs. Some of the more exotic shells were painted with lead verdigris paint. It was decided not to repaint these shells but leave them in their original state.

*Information taken from signboards within Shell Cottage

There has been a small chapel in the north east corner of Adlington Hall since 1398. This was the year that Sir Robert de Legh was granted a licence ‘for celebration of Divine Service within the precincts of the manor’. The original Georgian Chapel was pulled down in 1928 and replaced by the current Chapel.*

*Information from the Adlington Hall guide book

One of the doors at Adlington Hall survives from c1581.

This substantial English Oak perimeter door, with its integral wicket door and topped with sharp prongs, was originally the main entrance on the South side of Adlington Hall long before the Georgian wing was built.

The holes were for musketeers, made during the English Civil War, 1642 to 1651. They enabled the Royal Garrison stationed at the Hall to fire at Oliver Cromwell’s invading troops in 1644.*

* From a signboard next to the Oak Door

One of the most beautiful homes in England, Adlington Hall, home of the Leghs from 1315 was built on the site of a Hunting Lodge in the Forest of Macclesfield in 1040.

Two oaks, part of the original building, remain rooted in the ground supporting the east end of the Great Hall. Between the trees stands an organ which was played on by Handel and is still operational today.

Adlington Hall is a country house near Adlington, Cheshire. The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581. The Legh family has lived in the hall and in previous buildings on the same site since the early 14th century. After the house was occupied by Parliamentary forces during the Civil War, changes were made to the north wing, including encasing the Great Hall in brick, inserting windows, and installing an organ in the Great Hall. In the 18th century the house was inherited by Charles Legh who organised a series of major changes. These included building a new west wing, which incorporated a ballroom, and a south wing with a large portico. It is possible that Charles Legh himself was the architect for these additions. He also played a large part in planning and designing the gardens, woodland and parkland, which included a number of buildings of various types, including a bridge known as the Chinese Bridge that carried a summerhouse.

The hall was reconstructed and reduced in size in 1928. The work included demolition of much of the west wing, building a screen wall to fill the gap, and removing parts of the south wing.