_Rostherne Hall_, long the residence of the Masseys of Coddington, and now the property of Lord Egerton, stands on the border of a broad mere, as much famed for its curious legends as for the natural beauty of its surroundings. _Ashley Hall_, where, in 1715, ten Cheshire gentlemen, namely, Thomas Assheton, the resident proprietor; Sir Richard Grosvenor, of Eaton; James, Earl Barrymore, of Marbury; Charles Hurleston, of Newton; Amos Meredith, of Henbury; Alexander Radclyff, of Fox Denton in Lancashire, but born at Wythenshawe in Cheshire in 1677; Robert Cholmondeley, of Holford; John Warren, of Poynton; Henry Legh, of Legh; and Peter Legh, of Lyme; met to discuss the propriety of espousing the cause of the Old Pretender, the Chevalier St. George, the decision arrived at being in the negative by the casting vote of the owner of Ashley. _Tatton Hall_, anciently the seat of the knightly family of Massey, from the time of Edward I. to the time of Henry VI., descended in the time of Charles II. to the Egerton family, and is now owned by Lord Egerton. The present mansion, designed by the two Wyatts, has for its chief external feature a portico of columns 25 feet high, and stands in the centre of a park nearly 12 miles in circumference. The old hall, half a mile away, is situate on low, sheltered ground at the north end of the lake. _Mere Hall._--The old hall, long the residence of the ancient family of Mere, stood nearer the village, but only a portion of it now remains, used as a farmhouse. This estate has been in the possession of the Brooke family since 1652. Mr. Peter Langford Brooke, who, in 1834, built the present brick mansion overlooking the mere, had the misfortune to be drowned while skating on the mere on 9th January 1840, his wife witnessing the sad occurrence. _Arley Hall_, the seat of the Warburton family for several centuries, was demolished in 1833, and the present handsome structure, with its chapel designed by Salvin (who was also the architect of Peckforton Castle), was not completed until 1845. Over the stone porch doorway is carved the following rhyme by the squire of the hall:-- “This Gate is free to all Good Men and True, Right Welcome thou, if worthy to pass through.” _Marbury Hall_,[48] possessed by the Marbury family for many generations until the death of Richard Marbury in 1684. Since the eighteenth century it has belonged to the family of Barry. The present mansion, overlooking Budworth Mere, was built by the architect, Mr. A. Salvin, in the French château style. [48] On the southern border of the county is another _Marbury Hall_, late the residence of Cudworth H. Poole, Esq., beautifully situated on a hill that commands the view of two meres and a picturesque church and village of the same name. [Illustration: Tabley House and Chapel.]