Over the centuries, the Leghs hosted all sorts of high society in their family home, including the great German-British Baroque composer, George-Friedrich Handel. Handel would play on the grand Tudor organ of the great hall, which has been used in more recent years for weddings and events. During the Civil War, Adlington was held for the Crown by Thomas’s grandson, Col Thomas Legh, and twice defeated by Parliamentary forces.
The estate is, by any standard, colossal; so much so that the sellers are willing to divide it into 25 lots. It comprises no less than six let farms, a further 22 houses and cottages, plus various ancillary buildings and parcels of land. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the mansion house, though, is the Georgian part of the hall, which has been used as a private family home in recent years.
While the house is breathtaking, the gardens and grounds around Adlington Hall are equally impressive. They include the pleasure gardens known as The Wilderness. These date from 1688, and lead to the Dutch Lime Walk planted to commemorate William of Orange’s accession to the throne. This, along with several follies, has survived many hundreds of years under the Legh family.
The organ – once played by Handel – in the great hall of Adlington
Courtesy of Savills