The present magnificent edifice, the designs for which were furnished by Porden, was erected upon the site of the old hall (a stately brick mansion, built by Sir John Vanburgh, taken down in 1803), and is considered the most splendid modern specimen of the pointed Gothic in the kingdom. Although in the general design the florid Gothic order of the time of Edward the Third has been followed, the architect has, in parts, not only availed himself of the low Tudor arch, but has adopted the peculiar style of any period suitable to his purpose, and has made subservient to modern domestic convenience the rich and varied forms in which our ancient ecclesiastical architecture abounds. The walls, battlements, and pinnacles of the building are constructed of stone of a light and beautiful colour, brought from Delamere Forest; and round the turrets and in various parts of the parapets are shields, charged in relief with the heraldic achievements of the house of Grosvenor, and of other ancient families with whom they are allied. The building consists of a centre and two wings, the latter differing from each other somewhat in design; of these, that to the south, composed of two compartments, is the more beautiful; this wing is oblong and angular, with four octagonal turrets at the corners, buttresses at the sides, and having the embattled parapets surmounted with pinnacles; the decorations are rich to profusion, but every part accords with the original plan. The eastern and western fronts agree in their general form and proportions, but the former possesses the greater number of minute decorations. In the front a cloister extends along the entire length between the two spacious windows of the dining and drawing rooms, and conducts to the terrace: from the terrace, which is 350 feet long, the view is eminently beautiful. The groves and gardens, with the conservatory, form the foreground; beyond them is seen the noble inlet of the Dee, and a charming extensive landscape fills up the distance. The view from the gardens embraces the south or library wing, but the opposite extremity is partly hidden by the trees; beyond it, but apparently mingling with the turrets and pinnacles, is seen a lofty octagonal clock-tower, connected by flying buttresses with four slender shafts on a square basement; it is attached to part of the stable court, which recedes from the line of the east front, and which is of great extent.