Castle Park House

Castle Park House is a historic house surrounded by extensive grounds in the market town of Frodsham in Cheshire, England (gbmapping|SJ514775).

The House

History

The house is built on the site of Frodsham Castle which burnt down in 1654. In the late 18th century the first house on the site, "Park Place", was built by Robert Wainwright Ashley, a lawyer in the town. On his death the house was inherited by his eldest son, Major Daniel Ashley II until his death in 1841. It was then inherited by his brother Reverend Thomas Ashley, but mortgaged to Philip Humberston of Chester. During this time it was leased to Captain Harry Heron.cite book | last =Hawkin | first =W. R. | authorlink = | coauthors =Duncan, N. | title =Discovering Castle Park | publisher =The Frodsham & District Local History Group | date =1989 | location =Frodsham | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = ]

In 1851 it was bought by Joseph Stubs of Warrington, a manufacturer of engineers' tools. He started to develop and extend the house and outbuildings and commissioned Edward Kemp to lay out the woods and gardens, which comprised an area of more than 24 acres. He did not live to see the work completed as he died in 1861. It was bought by auction for over £9,500 by Edward Abbott Wright, a Quaker cotton manufacturer from Oldham. The house then came to be known as "Castle Park". The Wrights had 5 children, a boy who died at the age of 14 and 4 girls. Edward's wife died in 1868 and Edward continued to live in the house, commuting for his business and political interests from Frodsham railway station, until he died at the age of 83 in 1891. Following this, Edward's two unmarried daughters, Harriet and Emily continued to live in the house until the last remaining daughter, Harriet died in 1931.

Today

The grandchildren of Edward, who were the beneficiaries of the will, presented the house and 12 acres of ornamental grounds to the Runcorn Rural District Council (of which Frodsham was at that time a part) for the "use, enjoyment and benefit" of the inhabitants. The grounds were used as a public park and the house as the offices of the Rural District Council. After the reorganisation of 1974 the ground floor was used by Vale Royal Borough Council and Frodsham Parish Council. Following the settlement of some legal matters the whole house is now in the possession of Vale Royal Borough Council.cite web |url=http://www2.valeroyal.gov.uk/internet/vr.nsf/0/A3206DB98AD1C467802571D3005637ED |title=One Stop Shop - Castle Park |accessdate=2007-04-11 |publisher=Vale Royal Borough Council]

In 2006 the house had a major refurbishment and is now used for a variety of purposes. These include a One Stop Shop for public services and charities, a centre for meetings and conferences and an Adult Learning Centre. Parts of the building are leased to small businesses for office facilities and the site is licensed for weddings. The archives of the Frodsham and District Local History Group are held in the house.

The Outbuildings and Garden

History

Edward Kemp's plan was for a formal garden containing a conservatory and plant houses to the north of the house. Beyond these were a garden yard, a stable yard, a coach house and a farm yard. To the west of these was a substantial kitchen garden. The other outbuildings included a vinery, with a heated wall, and a smoke house for curing bacon and ham. Joseph Stubs was a collector of rare plants and many of these were planted in what he called the American Garden. In the days of the Wright family a head gardener and seven full-time gardeners were employed and also during this time more outbuildings were constructed beyond the coach house.

Today

An extensive area of parkland stretches up the hill to the west of the house. Some of the trees planted by Joseph Stubs are still present, although coming to the end of their lives. The formal garden is still there and a garden for the disabled has been constructed by Frodsham Round Table. In the park there are play facilities for children. The coach house has been developed into the Castle Park Arts Centre which has a small café and showrooms for the arts. Other outbuildings are now used as offices for small businesses.

Notes

ee also

*Frodsham
*Frodsham Castle
*cite web |url=http://www.frodshamforward.org/intranet/ff.nsf/0/33B3DC7C0BCCA61E8025720C003D4CA4 |title=Castle Park House |publisher=Frodsham Forward
*cite web |url=http://www.castle-park-arts.co.uk/ |title=Castle Park Arts Centre