Rocksavage

Rocksavage
Ruins of Rocksavage c. 1818; the octagonal towers flanked the gateway
Map
General information
StatusRuined (limited fragments remain)
Architectural styleElizabethan, prodigy house
Town or cityClifton, Runcorn, Cheshire
CountryEngland
Construction started1565
Completed1568
DemolishedRuined by 1782
A sketch of Rocksavage house and its surroundings
A sketch of Rocksavage and Clifton Hall
Brereton Hall, a later house which was modelled on Rocksavage, and offers a representation of how the house once looked

Rocksavage or Rock Savage was an Elizabethan mansion in Cheshire, England, which served as the primary seat of the Savage family. The house lies in ruins, at SJ526799 in Clifton (now a district of Runcorn). Built in the 1560s for Sir John Savage, Rocksavage was one of the great Elizabethan houses of the county, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house; in 1674, it was the second largest house in Cheshire. James I visited in 1617. The house was abandoned after it passed into the Cholmondeley family early in the 18th century, and by 1782 only ruins remained.

Rocksavage comprised a sandstone quadrangle around a central courtyard, with paired octagonal towers flanking the main entrance. Only fragments of its garden and orchard walls are still standing; they are listed as Grade II.