Radbroke Hall

Radbroke Hall is a white French chateau-style former country house in Peover Superior, Cheshire, England. It takes its name from the Red Brook stream that runs through the grounds.[1]

History

Radbroke Hall was built between 1914 and 1917 for Manchester businessman Claude Hardy and his wife Olga. The architect was Percy Worthington.[2] Originally from Belfast, Claude Hardy had a successful textile manufacturing business in Manchester. Unfortunately, Claude's death in 1916 left his widow to oversee the completion of the building work alone.[1]

The hall is built of Portland stone which was brought by train to a local railway station from Weymouth. Main features of the hall include a white marble staircase, a music room, and an oval dining room.[1] Around the hall were some twenty acres of grounds including attractive rose gardens and areas given over to a large variety of Rhododendrons. The main hall driveway is flanked by large old beech trees.

The house and parts of the gardens are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II listed buildings.[3][4]

The Nuclear Power Group

With Radbroke Hall being left mainly unoccupied during the 1920s and 1930s, it was sold by the Hardy Family in 1956 to the Nuclear Power Group who built offices and a testing tower on the grounds.

Barclays Technology Centre

The site was purchased by Barclays from The Nuclear Power Group in 1972. Approximately 1,400 staff were relocated from London to the new site. Today the site is home to the Barclays Technology Centre and mainly focuses on supporting the bank's IT infrastructure.[5]

See also

References
  1. Mottershead, John; Wienholdt, Barry (2002). Over Peover, a Cheshire village. Cheshire: Peover Superior Parish council. pp. 34, 35.
  2. de Figueiredo, Peter; Treuherz, Julian (1988), Cheshire Country Houses, Chichester: Phillimore, pp. 150–153, ISBN 0-85033-655-4
  3. Historic England, "Radbroke Hall (1139314)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 June 2014
  4. Historic England, "Rose Garden Wall and Pavilions at Radbroke Hall (1335826)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 June 2014
  5. Radbroke Hall, UK, Barclays, retrieved 12 June 2011

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