Portal:Cheshire/Selected article/1
Cholmondeley Castle is a grade-II*-listed country house in Cholmondeley in the form of a battlemented sandstone castle. Built in 1801–5 for George Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley, who was responsible for much of the design, it was extended in 1817 and again in 1828–29 by Robert Smirke, who added a round tower. The present house replaced a timber-framed hall on a moated platform, largely demolished in the late 18th century. In the grounds stands the grade-I-listed St Nicholas' Chapel, which dates originally from the 13th century and was encased in brick in 1717.
The original grounds were designed in the 17th century by George London as a formal garden and re-modelled by William Emes, who converted part into a landscape park with two lakes. The remaining formal gardens include the Silver Garden, the Lily Pool Garden, the Rose Garden and the Temple Garden, which has a temple structure on an island. The gardens are open to the public in summer.