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| The entrance to the Hall is between the two chimneys | ||
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| View of the wing running back from the entrance hall | The audience's view of the performers on the lawn |
One of the finest entertainments to be had in Cheshire is at Gawsworth Hall. On a number of evenings in late Spring and Summer, weather permitting, you can have a picnic on the lawn by the lake before taking your seat for an open-air performance of a play, operetta, or concert. The audience and orchestra are under cover but when there is a play, the actors are in the open air on the splendid lawns and gardens beside the house.
On the evening these photographs were taken, there was a concert given by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. The second half of the concert was similar to that at the 'Last Night of the Proms' with Henry Wood's 'Sea Songs', 'Jerusalem', 'Land of Hope and Glory', 'Rule Britannia' and 'The National Anthem'. I have attended many memorable performances over the years including 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Rebecca', in which the house appears to catch light, 'Pirates of Penzance', 'A Woman of No Importance', 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' and 'The Pasadena Roof Orchestra'.
The house was the home of the Fitton family in the 16th and 17th century and was said to be the residence of Shakespeare's dark lady. Raymond Richards, the celebrated Cheshire historian, who wrote Old Cheshire Churches in 1947and The Manor of Gawsworth in 1957, acquired the hall and it is now run by his son.
On the public footpath to the left of the house you can see this statue of Sir Robert Peel.
