Rode Hall

Rode Hall
The hall, from the north west, across Rode Pool
Location	Odd Rode, Cheshire, near Stoke-on-Trent, England
Coordinates	53°06′46″N 2°16′19″W / 53.112896°N 2.272006°W / 53.112896; -2.272006Coordinates: 53°06′46″N 2°16′19″W / 53.112896°N 2.272006°W / 53.112896; -2.272006
OS grid reference	SJ 81890 57336
Built	c.1700 (original house) 1752 (extension)
Built for	Randle Wilbraham Randle Wilbraham III
Architect	Hiorne brothers (1752 extension) Lewis Wyatt (interiors)
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated	6 June 1952
Reference no.	1138746
Location in Cheshire

Rode Hall, a Georgian country house, is the seat of the Wilbraham family, members of the landed gentry in the parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, England. The estate, with the original timber-framed manor house, was purchased by the Wilbrahams from the ancient Rode family in 1669. The medieval manor house was replaced between 1700 and 1708 by a brick-built seven-bay building; a second building, with five bays, was built in 1752; the two buildings being joined together in 1800 to form the present Rode Hall.

Both the exterior and interior of Rode Hall have been altered multiples times, including work by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard and Lewis Wyatt, resulting in an irregular and complex layout. The house has large collections of period paintings, furniture, and porcelain by Chelsea, Bow and Royal Worcester.

The house is Grade II* listed, and is surrounded by parkland and formal gardens, which are included as Grade II on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. On the site are a grotto, an ice house, and an ornamental obelisk, all Grade II listed structures. Rode Hall is still owned and occupied by the Wilbrahams, currently by the 8th Baronet, Sir Richard Baker Wilbraham, and his wife, Lady Anne Baker Wilbraham. The hall and gardens are open to the public from April to September.

The Rode Estate had been owned by the Rode family since at least the 14th century, when William de Rode bore arms for Edward II. The estate was purchased in 1669 by Roger Wilbraham for the sum of £2,400 (equivalent to £350,000 in 2015), from his cousin Randle Rode. The Wilbrahams were prominent local landowners and descended from Sir Richard de Wilburgham, the Sheriff of Cheshire in the mid 13th century. The estate passed through the male line until 1900 when General Sir Richard Wilbraham died, leaving it to his only daughter Katherine. Katherine's husband, George Baker, assumed by royal licence the surname Wilbraham. In 1910, George succeeded to the Baker baronetcy on the death of his elder brother.