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Fulshaw Hall is a
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 ...
, south of the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is south of Manchester. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the parish had a population of 26,213 and the built up area had a p ...
, in
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 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 ...
. Samuel Finney III, the miniature-painter to
Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...
, lived at Fulshaw from 1769 until his death in 1798. The land was once held by the Knights Hospitalier during the reign of Henry III, and later requisitioned for the
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
( SOE) during
WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The house was built with money generated from enslaved labour in the
British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...
.


History


c.1200-1561

Fulshaw was originally one of four settlements within the surrounding parish of Wilmslow. In c.1200, Robert de Fulshaw granted Richard Fitton the
lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of eco ...
of the Fulshaw manor. It was his son, Richard that granted the manor to the
Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...
(or the ' Knights Hospitalier') during the reign of Henry III. The Knights Hospitalier then passed Fulshaw to Richard del Sherd in 1277, which was eventually passed to Geoffery de Verdon through his marriage to Margaret del Sherd. Fulshaw was held by the Verdons until 1561.


1561-1682

In 1561, a relative of Geoffery de Verdon, Thomas Verdon, sold Fulshaw to Humphrey Newton for £112. Newton had leased and lived at the house at Fulshaw since 1537. It was then sold to Roger Wilbraham of Nantwich in 1672, who lived there until 1682.


1682-1733

Roger Wilbraham of Nantwich sold Fulshaw to Samuel Finney in 1682 for £2,100, upon the latter's return to England. Born in 1642 - most probably at Finney Green in
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, where is grandfather John Finney had settled - Samuel Finney had risen to become a prosperous
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
, making his fortune in the
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
- operated sugar and cotton plantations of
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
, then in the
British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...
. He married Mary Evans, the daughter of another planter and merchant in Barbados, and returned with her to England in c.1680. At the time of purchasing Fulshaw from Wilbraham in 1682, Finney also purchased neighbouring plots of land then named "Alcock's Green", from Edward Alcock, which expanded the size of the estate. It was not until 1684 that Samuel Finney rebuilt the
timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
at Fulshaw. Although the origin of the existing house is debated, it was likely to have been built by the Verdons. The house that Finney replaced it with was considerably larger and more impressive, with a seven-bay symmetrical front that survives at the core of the building today. In 1688, Samuel Finney and his son John supported William of Orange by raising a troop of horse, along with Thomas Latham of nearby
Hawthorn Hall Hawthorn 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 ow ...
. John Finney later attained the rank of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
, and married Latham's daughter, Jane, in 1693. In 1701, the Finneys left Fulshaw and emigrated to
America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the reason of which remains uncertain. Samuel Finney became a member of
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
's
council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and settled near
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
before his death in 1712. John Finney returned to England in 1711, and acted as
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of the
Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
for
Macclesfield Hundred The hundred of Macclesfield was an ancient division of the historic county of Cheshire, in northern England. It was known to have been in existence at least as early as 1242, and it was formed to a great extent from the earlier Domesday hundre ...
in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. It is now believed that John did not live permanently at Fulshaw, and so the house had declined into a state of disrepair upon his death in 1728, and remained uninhabited until 1733.


1733-1769

Following the death of John Finney in 1728, his eldest son Samuel Finney II inherited Fulshaw. Samuel had been born in 1696 and named after his grandfather. He married Esther Davenport and entered into a partnership with his father-in-law, Ralph Davenport in 1722, as a cloth merchant in Manchester. In 1733, Samuel Finney II went to live at Fulshaw Hall. As the house was now in disrepair, he set about extensively restoring, altering and extending the house in 1735. However, he ruined himself financially in the process and then left for Philadelphia in 1738. There are little surviving records of him after this, and his last known whereabouts were in Philadelphia in 1764. There is little surviving record of the house between 1738 and 1769.


1769-1798

It was during 1769 that Samuel Finney II's eldest son, Samuel Finney III retired to live at Fulshaw. Samuel Finney III, born in 1719, had gone to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to study
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
, but abandoned the profession for painting. He married Martha Foster in 1747, and after the latter's death, Ann Barlow. He established himself as a miniature-painter, working in
watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...
on enamel and
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...
. This became a success, and improved both the family finances and social status, and amassed a fortune sufficient to pay off the encumbrances brought upon Fulshaw by his father. In 1763 he was appointed miniature portrait painter to
Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...
. He exhibited miniatures at the Exhibition of the Society of Artists in 1761, and exhibited a miniature of the Queen there in 1765. Upon his return to Fulshaw, Finney became a Justice of the Peace in 1770, as well as a local historian. He compiled a number of works, such as ''A Historical Survey of the Parish of Wilmslow'', and curated the collection of deeds for the Fulshaw estate that survives today. Finney's work contributed to the first volume of ''The Cheshire and Lancashire Historical Collector''. He died in 1798, and was buried in Wilmslow, leaving no children.


1798-1883

Following the death of Samuel Finney III in 1798, his younger brother, Peter Davenport Finney, lived at Fulshaw. Born in 1733, Peter Finney began in the trade of confectionery in Manchester, in 1733. However, he soon built a successful and profitable grocery business, and soon engaged in mercantile trading overseas. He retired to a house which he himself built nearby at Oversley Ford in 1785. He died at Fulshaw in 1800. The heir to Fulshaw was the grandson of Peter Finney's sister, Jane Tate, who was named Peter Finney II. Peter Finney II had been born in 1795, and was five years of age when the house was bequeathed to him. His father Samuel Tate had already changed his name through licence to Finney in 1788, predicting that a situation in which it was necessary would occur. Samuel Tate/Finney saw the birth of his son Peter in 1795, but died before the house was given to him in 1800. Peter Finney II was eventually married at
Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
during 1821, to Mary Williams, the daughter of a stone merchant from Chester, but his death in 1824 left Mary with an infant son and a legal challenge to establish the validity of the marriage before their son, Peter Finney, could become heir to Fulshaw, as there was a dispute over it. Mary Finney died in 1827, and the orphaned Peter Finney III died in 1840 at sixteen years of age. There was no direct heir following the death of Peter Finney III, but it was then traced to John Jenkins, who descended from Alice Finney, a sister of Samuel Finney III and Peter Finney I. He resided at Fulshaw until his death in 1883.


c.1885-1939

Richard Lingard Monk purchased Fulshaw in c.1885 and carried out a number of major additions and alterations; namely refacing the house in
Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
brick in 1886, and building a coach house and stables in 1890. Little is known about Monk himself, when he was born, when he died, or when he moved out of Fulshaw.


1939-

Fulshaw was requisitioned by the
War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
during the Second World War, and became a major base for the
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
( SOE) to train agents to conduct
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
,
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
and
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
in
occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
(and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the
Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
, and to aid local
resistance movements A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through e ...
. A study by John Chartres discovered that among the trainees were important 'Jedburghs’, which were groups of usually three officers that had the task to parachute into France, alongside the Allied Forces and act as liaison teams, making direct contact with the
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
. Parachuting was a frequent exersize within the grounds at Fulshaw. Fulshaw was later used as offices by
Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...
, and later by
AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...
. It remains in use as offices.


Architecture

The entry for the
Grade II 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 ...
listing of Fulshaw Hall, by
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
reads:
Formerly manor house, now offices, 1684 for Samuel Finney, additions dated 1735 for Samuel Finney II, major additions, refacing in brick, and alterations dated 1886 for R Lingard Monk. Flemish bond plum brick with painted sandstone dressings. Kerridge stone-slate roof and brick chimneys. Extensions in Accrington brick with stone dressings.
The oldest remaining part of the house is the building constructed in 1684 for Samuel Finney, with 2 storeys, and a symmetrical 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. Behind this are the 1735 additions built for Samuel Finney II. To the north of the hall is the former
coach house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two st ...
and stables built by Lingard Monk in 1890. They were constructed in orange brick and have an L-shaped plan. The house 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 stables are also listed at Grade II. To the north of the hall are the former
coach house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two st ...
and stables built by Lingard Monk in 1890. They are constructed in orange brick and have an L-shaped plan. The house 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 stables are also listed at Grade II.


See also

* Listed buildings in Wilmslow


References


External links


Biographical History from the 'Finney of Fulshaw Deeds' online collections siteDetails on the digitising of the Finney of Fulshaw Deeds, showing the original wax seals in the collection'The Cheshire and Lancashire Historical Collector', edited by T.W Barlow, with information on the history of Fulshaw and the Finneys

'The Training of WWII Secret Agents in Cheshire', by J Chartres, with information and anecdotes on the SOE period at FulshawPhotograph of Fulshaw Hall from the Historic England Photographic Archive
{{authority control Houses completed in 1684 Houses completed in 1886 Country houses in Cheshire Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire Tudor Revival architecture in England Grade II listed houses 1684 establishments in England Training establishments of the Special Operations Executive Wilmslow