Bonis Hall is a former

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

to the north of Prestbury,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. It was the seat of the Pigot family until 1746, when it was bought by Charles Legh of Adlington. In the early part of the 19th century it was remodelled and used by the Legh family as a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish estate (house), estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house fr ...

. In the early 20th century the exterior was

pebbledashed Roughcast and pebbledash are durable coarse plaster surfaces used on outside walls. They consists of lime and sometimes cement mixed with sand, small gravel and often pebbles or shells. The materials are mixed into a slurry and are then thrown ...

, and castellations were added. It is constructed in brick, with

Kerridge Kerridge is a village in the civil parish of Bollington, in the Cheshire East district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Kerridge borders the neighbouring parish of Rainow. It gives its name to Kerridge Ridge – one of the ...

stone-slate roofs. The house is in two storeys and has a seven-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

front with coped

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s surmounted by ball and urn

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

s. On top of the building is a square tower with a pyramidal roof surmounted by a hexagonal

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

with a copper

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

and

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an list of weather instruments, instrument used for showing the wind direction, direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ' ...

. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The Duke of York (later King George VI) occasionally stayed at Bonis Hall with its owner Sir Robert Burrows. It has since been converted for varied uses, mainly as offices and studios, by several companies. It was for some years the Staff College for the Midland Bank. It then became The Bonis Hall Country Club. During this time a swimming pool was added and also a large entertainment room cum discoteque. This modern addition was in stark contrast to the existing structure. It then became home to the Manchester branch of Royds Advertising Group, who converted the discoteque into their drawing office. This was extended, in matching style, as more space was required. It is today (2023) the Manchester Campus of yet another advertising company, the McCann Worldgroup. This company has undertaken many further alterations and additions to the site. The disco/drawing office has been replaced by a large, two story oval structure in steel and glass, which now links the main building with the coaching house.

References

Country houses in Cheshire Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire {{UK-listed-building-stub

See also

References