Dorfold Hall, Nantwich, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The Dorfold estate was bought in 1603 by Sir Roger Wilbraham, a distinguished lawyer. Being childless he passed the property to his younger brother Ralph, Feodary of Cheshire and Flintshire, who in 1616 constructed the greater part of the present house. The Wilbrahams retained Dorfold until 1754, when it was sold to James Tomkinson (d 1794), a wealthy lawyer from Bostock, who proceeded to remodel the interior and before 1789 add a five-bay service wing (demolished, except for one bay, in 1951), possibly using the architect William Baker (1705-1771). Under Tomkinson's son Henry (d 1822) the present garden layout was established. In 1824 the forecourt of the house was made more attractive and antique for Henry's son, the Reverend James Tomkinson (d 1841), while twenty-five years later William Andrews Nesfield (1793-1881) was brought in to advise on further improvements to the surrounds and setting of the house, although disapproval from within the family, not least from Tomkinson's widow who lived on until 1861, delayed implementation of his scheme until 1862. In 1861 Dorfold was inherited by the Tomkinsons' daughter Anne, the wife of Wilbraham Spencer Tollemache. It was he who brought in Nesfield, and certain aspects of the scheme, notably the new drive, were opposed by his wife who shared her mother's opinion of it. Dorfold remains (1997) in private hands.