Barlaston Hall
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Barlaston Hall is a Palladian English country house near the village of Barlaston in Staffordshire, overlooking the valley of the River Trent 5 miles south of Stoke-on-Trent. It was built by architect Sir Robert Taylor for Thomas Mills in 1756-8, to replace the existing manor house that he had acquired through marriage. The hall is one of few of Taylor's buildings to retain his trademark octagonal and diamond glazing in its sash windows.
The 380-acre estate was bought by the Wedgwood pottery company in 1937, as a site to replace its operation in Etruria a few miles away on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent. A new electric pottery and model village for its employees were built in the grounds, and the company completed its move in 1950. The hall housed the Wedgwood Memorial College, but it suffered major subsidence due to coal mining, and the college moved to another building nearby.
The house had been built across a geological fault, and 4-inch wide cracks had opened in its walls. Wedgwood made two applications to have the Grade 1 listed building demolished. The National Coal Board said that it would pay for the subsidence damage and preventative works to construct a raft under the building, and it was acquired by Save Britain's Heritage for £1 in 1981. The exterior was restored in the 1990s thanks to grants from the Historic Building Council and the Manifold Trust. After the NCB changed its mind about paying for restoration works, offering a small amount as the building was in such a poor state, Save Britain's Heritage started judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State for the Environment and the NCB. The NCB eventually paid £120,000, and grants from English Heritage and a loan from the National Heritage Memorial Fund enabled the restoration works to be completed.
The building was bought by James and Carol Hall, who have restored the interior of the building in Rococo style.
