Sharpcliffe Hall.
I have decided to write about Sharpcliffe hall as there seems to be little information regarding the hall, so what little information I have managed to collate, I have uploaded to this site in the hope of preserving what little is known about it. The hall is located along Bradshaw lane at Ipstones in the county of Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. It overlooks the Coombes Valley and Spirthole woods which I have written about extensively and which is now the site of an RSPB bird sanctuary. In fact the word Coombe should be spelt Combe which means steep narrow valley running North to South.
There does seem to be some ambiguity regarding the age of the hall. According to a sales brochure which I have, it refers to an auction of the property dated June 26th 1929, it states that the house was built in 1678. A Heritage design statement which I have states the house was built by John Whitehall who inherited the estate of Sharpcliffe in 1642 and who died in 1684.
A local historian Neil Collingwood wrote an article for the local paper which sheds more light on the origins of the hall and is as follows “one of two stone plaques on the front of the house bears the date 1673 but this is not the date of building, but rather when alterations were made to the pre-existing house. It seems that Sharpcliffe was originally a timber framed manor house which was rebuilt in stone, altered and enlarged over many centuries. Apparently some of the old timber frame survives inside the building, and windows in the cellar predate those above ground. According to the Reverend F Brighton in “The Tale of Ipstones” (1937) the earliest record of anyone living at Sharpcliffe was in 1261, not long after surnames began to be used in England and consequently the first inhabitants were known as the “de Sharpcliffes”. Henry de Sharpcliffe was apparently living in the area (possibly on the same site) in 1293. Brighton mentions that Sharpcliffe is believed to be the site of an ancient British encampment and a structure believed to be a prehistoric building of two chambers was discovered by men working in a nearby gravel pit in 1910″.
Returning once more to the “de Sharpcliffes”, it may be that they got inspiration for their surname from the shape of the ridge which can be found below the hall on the side of the Coombes valley.
As stated before the Whitehall family were among the”ancient tenants” of Ipstones and were thus able to purchase the property in 1651. It passed through various branches of the family until sold to John Sneyd in 1845 who purchased it from a Mr Keen for £8,400. Sneyd purchased it for his second son, Ralph Debank who wished to try his hand at farming who unfortunately died young in 1854, there followed a decade or more of building work which included the complete reconstruction of the roof. In addition the original fixtures such as doors and panelling were swept away, two new chimney stacks were inserted with a series of new fireplaces, panelling was added to the newly created entrance hall, the dining room and drawing rooms, and a porch placed over the front doorway carrying the Sneyd arms. The kitchen may have been added at this point together with the long barn and its well ventilated game larder.
Various members of the family occupied the hall until Dryden Sneyd sold it to Hugh Sleigh JP in 1874 for £22,655. The Sleigh shield of arms consisting of a chevron and three owls appears on one of the chimneys and can also be seen on the frontages of two houses in St Edwards street, Leek, Spout Hall and Les Hetres.
Hugh Sleigh couldn’t have occupied the Hall for long as I believe Ralph de Tunstall Sneyd rented the property around this time. Ralph De Tunstall Sneyd was an eccentric, who dressed as a Druid and performed ceremonies and rituals, one having taken place at nearby Thors cave. He may have rented the Hall because of the Coombes valley’s chequered history and used the Hall and the surrounding grounds to perform rituals. It is known that he erected a stone circle in the woodlands for ritualistic purposes.
In 1904 Sharcliffe was purchased by A. S. Boucher, who made large scale additions including drawing and dining rooms with bedrooms above, and a completely new kitchen, which infilled the space between the nineteenth century kitchen and barn. He also rebuilt many of the mullioned windows on a larger scale, which necessitated raising sections of the dripmoulding to accomodate them. He also added a squash court with a first floor viewing platform. Boucher spent a great deal of money enlarging the estate to around 1000 acres but in 1919 he held a large sale of agricultural equipment as he had let most of the land.
In 1929 the property was purchased by R.M. Argles and for twenty years was part of the Haregate estate. In1946 the Youth Hostels Association purchased the Hall, the drive, and five acres of land. This closed in 1954.
According to Neil Collingwood, when the YHA moved out, Sharpcliffe stood empty between 1954 and 1959 during which period it was badly vandalised. It was the bought by Mr and Mrs Cartwright in May 1959 and they seemed to have spent a lot of their time there submitting planning applications many of which were deemed to ineligible or, after consideration, were refused.
Mrs Cartwright was frequently involved in litigation concerning matters such as resisting the installation of telephone cables across her land, failing to provide a sufficient water supply on a caravan site that she owned to fight potential fires and getting a High Court to refuse Sedgley Council Officer’s permission to enter another of her caravan sites.
Sharpcliffe apparently possessed attractive gardens but these have now been largely lost. Remains apparently include moorland, parkland, terraces, and a summerhouse. There were also formal gardens, shrubberies, a wild garden, a stone walled kitchen garden and paths leading down to a lake. What is visible of the garden today is largely 19th century but is believed to overlay an earlier 18th century design.
The original house, built in the 1640s?, has a double pile plan. This is unique in this part of Staffordshire, where the larger seventeenth century houses are all built as a single pile with one or more crosswings, and reflects the fact that the Whitehall family had wide interests elsewhere and were not simple local farmers.
The house was designed to appear symmetrical with three gables to the front and back of the house, and two on either end. This would normally give a double pile roof with a simple drainage system created by a valley sloping towards one end. Here the situation seems to have been complicated by an external stack positioned between the two bays of the upper end of the house, thus blocking the valley at both ends. Whatever the form of the original roof it is likely that its various valleys always gave trouble, and the roof was rebuilt to a new design by John Sneyd in the 1850s. In the process timbers from the earlier roof were reused, including a truss from a timber framed house with housings for wind-braces, and wall plates or girding beams with mortices for close studding. The present twentieth century roof oversails a strange arrangement in which one of the earlier trusses is used as a basis for the raising of the whole central portion of the roof.
John Sneyd’s work was nothing if not comprehensive, and leaves some doubt as to the original floor plan. There were certainly two rooms at the upper end of the house (the drawing room and dining room of 1874), a central area with a staircase at the rear and an entrance at the front (which was probably divided into two), and a lower end divided unevenly into a large houseplace and a small service room.
I have decided to reproduce a sales brochure relating to the sale by auction of the Sharpcliffe estate which took place on wednesday, June 26th, 1929, at 3pm and is as follows:
GENERAL INFORMATION
1.-SITUATION.-The estate is situated in a particularly pretty district, amongst perfectly rural surroundings, remote from industrial activity and yet only 5 miles from Leek and 12 miles from Stoke. There are stations at Ipstones and Cheddleton on branch lines from Leek, each about 2 miles from the Hall. Cheadle is 7 miles and Ashbourne 13 miles.
2.- HOW TO VIEW.- The Hall (lot1) can be viewed any week-day with these particulars in hand, but Mrs A. S. Boucher, who is in residence, would appreciate due notice of the visits of prospective purchasers. The address is Sharpcliffe Hall, Ipstones, Stoke. Telephone no: Leek 227. The remainder of the estate can be viewed at any time with these particulars in hand, by kind permission of the sitting tenants.
3.-CONVENIENCES.- Post office and Church at Ipstones, 2 miles. R.C. Churches at Cheadle and Leek. Doctors at Leek, which also forms a useful shopping centre, while better shops are found at Hanley and Stoke, 12 miles distant. The roads in the district are exceptionally good for motoring.
4.-MOTOR BUS SERVICES.- A frequent service of motor buses runs along the main road from Leek to Cheadle, which passes within 3/4 of a mile from the estate.
REMARKS AND STIPULATIONS
1.-SPORTING.-The sporting on the whole estate is in hand and the sporting rights on each lot will be included in the sale of that lot.
2.-TIMBER.-In regard to lot 1, 2a 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, and 11, the whole of the valuable timber on each lot will be included in the sale of that lot. The timber on all other lots has been carefully valued at the bare present market price and shall be paid for at the sum stated under each lot in addition to the purchase money and shall for all purposes (including payment of the deposit) be deemed to be part of the purchase money. Allowance has been made for bark and for rotten and defective trees. Any disputes as to the ownership of any trees to be left to the decision of the Auctioneers, which shall be final and binding on all parties and whose costs shall be paid as they decide.
3.-TENANCIES.-The farms and smallholdings are let on Yearly Lady Day tenancies, and the tenants pay the rates on their holdings and Land Tax. Such agreements as at present exist may be seen at the offices of the Land Agents at any time during business hours within one week prior to the sale. Each purchaser shall be deemed to have full knowledge of the same, whether he has inspected them or not. The Vendor will give notice to quit to any tenant if required by any purchaser of any portion of the land occupied by such tenant, upon being indemnified by the said purchaser against any claim by the tenant for disturbance or otherwise and in giving such notice the Vendor shall be deemed as acting solely as agent for the purchaser in question.
4.-FIXTURES.- Such of the fixtures as are termed Landlord’s fixtures, including the electric light plant on lot 1 and the two small oil engines on lot 2 will be included in the sale. On lot 1 the tenant’s fixtures and fittings, planned linoleum, garden ornaments, garden tools, plants in pots and outdoor effects enumerated in an inventory to be prepared by the auctioneers, shall be taken by the purchaser and paid for in addition to the purchase money on completion of the purchase at a valuation to be made in the usual manner by two valuers or their umpire. The tenants fixtures, effects and plant on lot 2 shall be taken by the purchaser of that lot in a similar manner.
5.-MINERALS.-All sandstone, ironstone and gravel or any mineral lying underneath the various lots will be included in the sale of that lot except for a small part of lot 1 as to which see conditions of sale.
6.-ROADWAYS: RIGHTS OF WAY shall be reserved over the drives and roadways intersecting certain lots and granted to the owners for the time being of adjoining lots as stated in the particulars. Except where expressly stated otherwise the owners for the time being of the freehold of the roadways or drives shall keep and maintain the same in a condition suitable for the passage of private motor cars subject to the owners who have such rights of way, each contributing a proportionate part of the cost of upkeep. The proportion to be estimated in accordance with the user and damage done. Any person having the right to carry timber or other extraordinary weights over the said roadways shall at his own expense make good or pay reasonable compensation to the owner or owners of such roadways or parts of roadways so damaged. No claim shall be made against the Vendor in respect of damage done by timber felling or removal but against the purchaser or owner of the timber.
7.-TENURE.-The Estate is freehold.
8.-THE PLANS AND SCHEDULES are based upon the Ordnance Survey (edition1924), and are for reference only. They have been carefully revised and are believed to be correct, and the various lots being open to inspection, each purchaser shall be deemed to have satisfied himself that that the within descriptions sufficiently describe the several lots, and any error or mis-statement shall not annul the sale nor entitle either party to compensation.
9.-OUTGOINGS.-The Land Tax has been unofficially apportioned by the Auctioneers for the purpose of this sale, and the amounts of Land Tax and Chief Rents as stated under the descriptions of the various lots are approximate only and are intended as a guide to the Purchasers. No guarantee of accuracy is given or implied nor shall legal apportionment be required. Each lot is sold subject to Tithe and Land Tax as assessed and any other outgoings whether stated in the particulars or not and each purchaser shall be deemed to have satisfied as to the amounts of the outgoings which will become chargeable on the various lots.
WATER SUPPLY
In the past there seems to have been a problem supplying the hall with water, that is the reason that a man made pool was created probably in the 1600s as a way of supplying water to the hall. This pool which is known as the Spirithole has gathered various legends over the years, probably from people who do not realise it is man made. The pool is located close to where the Coombes brook exits Spirithole woods and can be seen in the centre of a meadow. The furthest side of the pool has castellated brick work which is similar to brick work that can be found around a spring in the grounds of the hall which probably supplied potable water to the hall.
Although it may only be speculation there is circumstancial evidence that suggests that water was transported from the Spirithole probably using a horse and cart and filling barrels to supply the hall. Perhaps it was only used to supply water for the stock at the hall, there is however evidence of an ancient track in Spirithole woods which exits close to the public footpath at the top of the woods near the Woodcock trail.
The following information taken from auction brochure dated 26th June 1929 sheds more light on the water situation and is as follows:
A good supply of water is obtained from springs on lot 8, pumped by a hydraulic ram, by Blake, worked by the stream, which pumps the water to two large underground reservoirs in Sharpcliffe wood above the house, from whence water is laid on by gravitation. One of the reservoirs and the pipe line is quite new. The overflow from the reservoirs is led to an open pond, from which pipes are taken to the Garage Yard for washing purposes. A subsidiary supply is from a spring near the Sharpcliffe Rocks on lot 2, which is piped to settling and storage tanks on that lot, from whence the Home Farm (lot 2) and the kitchen garden and hard court are supplied by gravitation; also a branch pipe from here can be utilised to feed the house reservoir if required.
ludchurch 