Ratcliffe’s Folly, or Ecton Castle, Ecton, Staffordshire

In later life Arthur Ratcliffe expressed his pride in having progressed from peddling candle wicks to becoming a surveyor, an M.P. for Leek, and director of a building society. But he might never have discovered his passion for building had his doctor not ordered him to take some time off work for the benefit of his health in 1922. On a visit to the Manifold Valley in Staffordshire, he found a small building which he intended to renovate as a weekend retreat, and snapped it up for the grand sum of £11.

In December 1922 Ratcliffe (1882-1963) was granted permission to extend the existing bungalow. His architects, Messrs Ellaway Smith & Co., drew up plans for a simple cottage with two rooms below and one above. The only mildly unusual feature was a balustraded viewing platform on the roof of the single-storey extension. But Ratcliffe became completely obsessed with the project, and the cottage grew to become his palatial country seat.

As a surveyor he travelled around the country and accumulated all sorts of masonry fragments, many of which he incorporated into what was was quickly becoming his ‘Castle in the Hills’.

Interviewed in 1933 he confessed that he had no idea what might happen next, and that he may even decide to ‘pull it down again and build a Swiss chalet to tone with the surrounding countryside’. This is a mysterious statement for as the aerial photograph below shows, the house was hardly surrounded by alpine scenery.

But the fortified style was not abandoned, and the ‘perfect reproduction of a medieval castle’ continued to grow battlements and turrets.

In 1937 Ratcliffe had a new idea and asked his builder to add a spire to the turret over the main entrance. George Johnston, who had started life as an apprentice plumber with one of Ratcliffe’s companies, remembered working on the spire and being taught how to cut and fit the copper cladding. The finishing touch was a wooden ball coated in gold leaf.

Officially known as ‘The Hillocks’, the house quickly became known as ‘Ecton Castle’ or ‘Ratcliffe’s Folly’. Ratcliffe and his wife Ellen welcomed visitors and their home ‘aroused widespread interest’. Ellen died in 1946 and Ratcliffe began work on a bridge to mark her life. Working at weekends and in the evenings the project took him 8 years, and it was not until November 1954 that a small ceremony was held to dedicate the bridge to Ellen’s memory. During her illness Ellen would enjoy watching Arthur feed the birds, so he built what he called the ‘Bird Temple’ on the spot.

But Ratcliffe didn’t just make the papers because of his eccentric home. Instead it was his pig, Joey, who became the focus of attention. In 1949 ‘people all over the country’ wrote to Ratcliffe, begging that Joey’s life ‘should be spared’ after the story spread that Joey was about to be slaughtered. But Joey had only become such a handsome great beast because the Ministry of Food had ensured he was well-nourished. And in return Joey was to become bacon and sausages.

Ratcliffe died in 1963 and the property descended to his son who sold the property. Now known as Ecton Castle, the house remains a family home, and sits in a lovely wooded setting with views of the hills and valley.

Ecton Hill, on which the house stands, was once home to the deepest copper mine in Britain, and in the 18th century provided the material used by the navy to ‘copperbottom’ its ships. It also provided the owner, the Duke of Devonshire, with a very handsome income which is said to have funded the 18th century development of Buxton.

Ecton Castle can be seen from public footpaths and is a short detour uphill from the Manifold Track, the path that follows the route of the disused railway line from Hulme End to Waterhouses. Keep climbing the footpath up behind the house to see Ecton Mine’s Powder and Engine houses. https://www.visitpeakdistrict.com/trails/manifold-track

For the history of the mining in the area see https://ectonmine.org.uk/history

The Folly Flâneuse wishes to thank the current owner of Ecton Castle for his generous help with this post.

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