Dorfold Hall

Earlier Houses: There was probably an earlier house on, or near, the site of the current house.

Built / Designed For: Ralph Wilbraham

House & Family History: During the English Civil War Dorfold was occupied by Royalist soldiers. In the early years of World War II refugees from Liverpool were housed here; after 1941 the park became a camp for Canadian soldiers. In 2024 Dorfold was listed for sale briefly; in the end, the Roundell family decided to keep and revitalize the house and estate.

Comments: Nikolaus Pevsner believed Dorfold Hall to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire.
Architect: William Baker

Date of Birth: 1705
Date of Death: 1771
Nationality: English
Notes: Called "the talented Cheshire architect" by The Georgian Group, Baker was also a gentleman farmer. He was from Audlem and worked primarily in and around his native Cheshire.

Date: 1757-59
Designed: Repaired and altered for James Tomkinson

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Architect: Edward Blore

Date of Birth: 1787
Date of Death: 1879
Nationality: British
Notes: Blore was famouusly valued by his clients for his reliable estimates. Howard Colvin wrote that "A dull competence pervades all his work."

Date: 1837-38 & 1843
Designed: Drawing and Dining Room chimneypieces

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John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. II, p. 122, 1853.

Country Life: XXIV, 594, 1908. Nov 23, 2025.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - SOFTBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 1995
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300072074
Book Type: Softback
House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Grade II
"The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" (1994 - TV series, episode 1.2, "The Dying Detective," as the exterior of Somerley House, the Savage family home). "The Making of a Lady" (2012 - TV movie, as the exterior of Lord Walderhurst's estate).
Current Seat / Home of: Charles and Candice Roundell

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Sir Roger Wilbraham, 1602-circa 1610; Ralph Wilbraham, circa 1610-1621. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Ralph Wilbraham, 1621-37; Roger Wilbraham, 17th century; Wilbraham family here until 1754. James Tomkinson, 1754-94; Henry Tomkinson, 1794-1811; The Rev. James Tomkinson, 1811-41. Wilbraham Spencer Tollemache, 1841-90; Henry J. Tollemache, 1890-1939. Christopher Roundell, 20th century; Richard Roundell, 20th century.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home

Ownership Details: Available for weddings and events
House Open to Public: By Appointment
Phone: 01270-625-245

Fax: 01270-628-723

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.dorfold.com/

Historic Houses Member: Yes

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