"Miltonville" Crumpsall Lane Crumpsall Manchester

"Miltonville" was built on a site close to Crumpsall Station with an area of over 5 acres bounded by Crumpsall Lane, the Manchester and Bury Railway (now Metrolink) Albert Road (Ardene Road) and Belgrave Road (St Mary’s Road). lt was built for J W Edmondson who had made his considerable fortune in the manufacture of the ubiquitous card railway ticket used across the entire railway network and thus he received payment for every rail journey made.

This house is of large dimensions, and has somewhere about five acres of land attached, tastefully laid out and thickly planted. The external architecture of the residence is solid and substantial, the different features being well grouped and massed together; the outline is somewhat severe and the general effect would be much enhanced by the addition of a tower or turret to break the skyline. This building is a very successful instance of the combination of common brickwork with Yorkshire stone dressings, the bricks are all set endways to the face externally and are afterwards dressed off in the joints with black mortar, a mode of treatment which produces a subdued pinky line, giving quietness and genuineness to the pile. This style of brickwork is eminently calculated to withstand the atmospheric influence at work in and about Manchester and gets over the difficulty of the staring red of the better kinds of brick and also of the equally unpleasant whiteness of fire bricks, which soon become dirty and unsatisfactory to look upon. At “Miltonville” Mr Darbyshire has evidently attempted to compromise between the manorial and domestic phases of Gothic architecture - no easy task, when modern requirements have to be considered. The main entrance is from an arcaded porch under a central gable, being surmounted by an oriel window, very good and pure in design; these features combine to provide an imposing and somewhat picaresque effect. The ground falls from the south front considerably and has thus afforded an opportunity for the introduction of an architectural terrace, terminating in a handsome conservatory. By the kindness of the owner we were permitted to peep into the interior. The entrance hall is a noble Gothic interior open to the open-timber roof and lighted by a four-light window, filled with painted glass. The entertaining rooms are large, some having timber-ribbed ceilings and the woodwork of pitch pine varnished. A corridor with glazed roof leads to the conservatory and vineries which are en-suite, forming a delightful promenade. Walking through this house one is struck by the thoroughness and honesty of the work; there is an absence of meretricious ornament; all the details appear to have been carefully worked out, and the furniture, hangings etc are all in keeping. We must congratulate the owner in possessing a delightful residence, expressing regret, however, that so important a building has not been placed on a more appropriate site, away from the busy hum of a manufacturing town. [The Critic. 13 July 1872 page 3]

Following the death of John W Edmondson, attempts were made to sell the house, seemingly without success, with advertisements appearing in the Manchester Guardian in 1904 and 1907:

HIGHER CRUMPSALL, within three miles of the Royal Exchange. TO BE SOLD, the Capital Detached Modern RESIDENCE known as Miltonville, situate at the junction of Crumpsall Lane and Belgrave Road; which is now in the occupation of the family of the late J W Edmondson Esq, the grounds being 21,699 square yards, a considerable portion of which having excellent frontages, is available, if desired, for the erection of other property; the house is most substantially built, containing spacious entertaining, with billiard room, nine principal bedrooms, dressing rooms with all conveniences for a family; the locality is very bracing, and the golf links are within a short distance of the property. Apply to J R Bridgford and Sons, 28 Cross Street Manchester. [Manchester Guardian 4 June 1904 p14]

TO BE SOLD, as a whole or in two lots, 21,699 Square Yards of LAND, with capital Detached Modern Family Residence thereon, known as Miltonville, situate Crumpsall Lane and Belgrave Road, Crumpsall: the larger portion of the site has excellent frontages, and is suitable for the erection of houses, 30 of which could be built on this portion of the site. For plans and full particulars apply to CHARLES CLEGG and SON, architects, 21 Spring Gardens, Manchester. [Manchester Guardian 5 March 1907 Page 3]

Renamed Charnwood House, in 1920 the house was in the occupation of Arnold Williams. -  Arnold Williams, Charnwood House Higher Crumpsall: Chartered Accountant. Chairman of Joseph Byrom and Sons Ltd; Chairman of the Laburnum Spinning Company (1920) Limited; Chairman of A W Richardson and Son Limited; Director of General Gas Appliances Limited, Mills Brothers (Birmingham) Limited, etc. Proposed director of The Saunders Garage and Motor Car Company Limited. London. [Manchester Guardian 14 August 1920 page 13]. In 1930 the Corporation was urged to buy up the grounds of Charnwood House for a public park before builders turned them into streets. [Manchester Guardian 17 March 1930 page 11]. The corporation took no action and the house and grounds were sold in the mid-1930s for speculative housing.

Reference    The Critic Vol 2. 13 July 1872 page 3
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