Tidestone at SJ 51537 77891
To the rear of the former Old Hall Hotel, Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, WA6 7AB
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1491930
- Date first listed:
- 06-Jan-2025
- List Entry Name:
- Tidestone at SJ 51537 77891
- Statutory Address:
- To the rear of the former Old Hall Hotel, Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, WA6 7AB
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1491930
- Date first listed:
- 06-Jan-2025
- List Entry Name:
- Tidestone at SJ 51537 77891
- Statutory Address 1:
- To the rear of the former Old Hall Hotel, Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, WA6 7AB
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- To the rear of the former Old Hall Hotel, Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, WA6 7AB
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cheshire West and Chester (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Frodsham
- National Grid Reference:
- SJ5153777891
Summary
A stone, erected in the mid-late C19 to mark the limit of an extreme high tide of the River Mersey in 1862.
Reasons for Designation
Tidestone at SJ 51537 77891, of around 1862, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* a rare example of a tidestone;
* a classically-inspired, rectangular section sandstone slab with a round head that exhibits good-quality tooling;
* the inscribed lettering remains legible;
* the stone stands in its original position.
Historic interest:
* the stone provides a physical and inscribed record of the highest extent of a major flooding event that occurred on 20 January 1862.
Group value:
* the stone benefits from a strong spatial, functional and historical group value with a nearby Grade II listed tidestone, which records an earlier flooding event that occurred in 1802.
History
The wide, low-lying tidal estuary of the River Mersey has always been subject to flooding on high tidal events. On 20 January 1862, a flood tide covered large areas of adjacent land, which was known as Frodsham Marsh, and the highest extent at Frodsham was recorded by a small tide stone marker. This point was in the garden to the rear of the former Old Hall Hotel, some 5-7m above mean high tide, and 2,695m (2¾ miles) from the River Mersey and 1,259m (¾ mile) from the River Weaver. The tidestone has a close relationship with an earlier stone recording a flood event in 1802, which is situated approximately 12.5m to the north-east.
Details
Tidestone, mid-late C19, erected to mark the limit of an extreme high tide in 1862.
MATERIALS: red sandstone.
DESCRIPTION: a headstone-shaped sandstone pillar which stands about 50cm above the ground surface, with its base buried in the ground. It has a rectangular section, with a rounded head. The front faces to the south-east and has an ashlar surface inscribed in a serif font that reads: THE TIDE / CAME TO / THIS STONE / JANUARY / 20, 1862. The rear and the sides of the stone are blank, and the rear edges are rounded.
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 14-Dec-2025 at 16:47:37.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2025. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2025. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry