Broomfield, Macclesfield Road, Alderley Edge

A house designed by Thomas Worthington while still a pupil under the supervision of Henry Bowman. Bowman leased the house for a period of twenty-one years. On the expiry of the lease in 1869 it was purchased by Thomas Worthington as his own residence. Four years later, on 10 October 1873 Worthington married Edith Emma Swanwick (1847–1942), the 26-year-old daughter of the man who had rented Broomfield from Henry Bowman from its completion in 1847.  Edith thus returned to her childhood home. 

ARCHITECTS' HOMES. No. 10. " BROOMFIELD." - Like the last of this series of Architects' Homes, the residence of Mr. Thomas Worthington is notable for the beauty of its site. " Broomfield " forms one of a little colony of houses clustered on a spur of that range of hill, called the " Edge," at Alderley, which rises abruptly from the Cheshire plains, and forms a striking feature in the landscape thereabouts. The " Edge " is thickly clothed with foliage amongst which the upper portions of the houses peep out in picturesque interest as you approach from the railway station. " Broomfield " stands one of the highest of these hillside houses, and the entrance-gate opens off the high road to Macclesfield. A serpentine drive winds up to the house round a sloping lawn planted with beautiful trees and shrubs. At no single point can you get an uninterrupted view of the entrance and garden fronts owing to the surrounding foliage. To the sketcher this is a difficulty, but the fact adds to the interest of the place and produces many charming vignettes. The lower view on my sheet of sketches shows the house as you immediately approach the main entrance. The first effect of this is very homely and quiet — just the feeling one desires to have in " going home." The quiet space of grey wall centring the view is an admirable contrast to the architectural effect at either end. The fine chimney-stalk on the left with the coupled gables nestling below, the simple unambitious doorway, the oriel gable, and the detached square chimney-shafts, call to mind the distinctive character of the old Derbyshire manor house or grange. The stone, which was chiefly quarried on the spot, is of a beautiful grey, toned here and there to a reddish shade, and covered all about with that delight ful silvery green that lichen gives, and, seen just as I saw it the other day, in contrast to the golden browns and green and purple of the autumn trees, makes up a picture of delicious colour. From the little plateau which lies along the front we pass through an arch of greenery to the little terraced garden cut out of the hill slope, and which is bordered on the higher side by rockery and trees and shrubs. The drive along the entrance front is continued by a path along the garden side, which is built up from the sloping lawn by a terrace wall, and the view looking along here to the stable gateway with its picturesque pigeons' cot would have made a pretty subject for a sketch had time allowed. Climbing through the rockery to the field above I found the view shown in my sketch of the Garden Front, which includes a characteristic semi-octagonal bay. Trespassing along the fields above the house I found a general view of the whole, seen from behind, which comes together in a most effective manner, dominated by the high pavilion roof, and bounded by the stable gateway on the left, and showing the stable buildings to the front.

From a broad gravel walk on the northern boundary of the garden is a pleasant view of the sloping lawn below studded with wellingtonia deodara and other specimen trees, bounded by a distant landscape, with the hills lying north of Manchester beyond. At the south side of the garden a narrow winding path through fern and rockery leads to a fine point of view, from which on a clear day may be seen Beeston Castle and Delamere Forest, backed by the Welsh mountains with the Snowdonian range in the extreme distance, and to the south the faint outline of the Shropshire Wrekin.

It should be pointed out that the plan and design are the outcome of two additions to the original building ; it was enlarged in 1870, when Mr. Worthington built the projecting building with a sort of pavilion roof (seen in the centre of the garden view), and it was added to in 1875, when the southern wing with octagonal bay and two half-timber gables, and the stable buildings with a good-sized workshop, were erected. The interior of the house includes much of interest, and contains some picturesque and telling bits, but these are chiefly of the kind best suited to the painter's brush for illustration; an oriel window recess, shown on my sheet, gives suggestion of a pretty feature in one of the larger rooms. Several water-colour sketches on the walls, made by Mr. Worthington abroad, attest the artist's skill, and the study of the architectural student also who has brought into his modern practice much of that charm of good proportion and dignity of treatment which the old examples teach. As an instance of this perhaps the little outline given from one will not be without interest to the profession. A real pleasure during my brief stay at " Broomfield " was the sight of many delightful bits of water-colour study made by Mr. Worthington at home and abroad, both of natural scenery and architecture. After five and thirty years of professional practice (it may interest my readers to know) Mr. Worthington still takes a constant and active part in the business of his firm, Messrs. Worthington and Elgood, of Manchester. T. Raffles Davison. [British Architect 30 October 1885 page 190-191]

Reference           British Architect 30 October 1885 page 190-191