The house was built in 1872 for Horace Dormer Trelawny and designed by the Chester architect John Douglas.

[2] In 1907 it was damaged by fire and following this it was rebuilt and extended, the architect again being John Douglas; at this time the owner was Thorneycroft Vernon.

[1] The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner in the Buildings of England series describes it as a "fine" house.

[6] In Douglas' biography, Edward Hubbard refers to its "massive solidity and indefinable form, its heavy hipped and gabled roofs and its elaborate use of brick".

[7] The architectural writers Figueirdo and Treuherz comment that the house "is an effective composition from a distance, but close to, the detailing is dull".