THE Hacienda was demolished in the late summer of 2008. Nantwich historian, Andrew Lamberton, had an interest in the lost building - apart from his interest and book publishing skills on the topic - after being given permission to photograph the ornate interior.

   He was surprised to see that the building had gone - and even more surprised to learn that outline planning permission had been granted by the former Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council for it to be replaced.

   But outline permission soon became full permission and in late 2010 the change became a reality.

   Andrew told me he was "lucky enough to be shown round" The Hacienda, and he provided some of the photographs he was able to take. Some of the interior features which he saw came from the old Eaton Hall (designed by Alfred Waterhouse in Victorian Gothic) when it was being demolished, he told me.  

They are shown on this page because they will be of interest to people who like old properties - and as a matter of record, had the features been lost in the demolition. Fortunately it didn't come to that.

   Andrew told me that The Hacienda was "built by Walter Elson (the Nantwich corn merchant) in the mid 1960s. It was built around an open square, very similar to the cloister type of arrangement that you find in cathedrals."

   He added: "I thought the dining room was the nicest room, being fully panelled in, I think, rich mahogany. The picture (right) shows this nicely. The top string is beautifully inlaid with mother of pearl.

   "There were various numbers on show around the whole room from number 1 to 32. I didn't find out what they had referred to at Eaton Hall but I was curious. The close-up picture (left) shows the number 6 with a mother of pearl pattern on each side of it."

    Where is the panelling now? Andrew told me "I learned later that the Hacienda panelling, etc, was reclaimed by a Yorkshire-based firm and was to be reinstalled somewhere in that county."

    My thanks to Andrew for sharing the pictures with us.