Brankelow Cottage
Brankelow Cottage is a decorative building on the Combermere Abbey estate in Cheshire, England. It is a Grade II listed folly that dates from 1797. It was first built as a model dairy, later served as a gamekeeper’s cottage with kennels, and today remains a decorative eyecatcher.
The building is made of red brick with ashlar details and a slate roof. It has a cross-shaped plan, with a single-story lake-facing front of seven bays, a central three-bay projection, and pavilions at each end. The front is topped with a parapet and battlements, with pinnacles at the corners. Windows have Tudor-style arches, and the end pavilions feature arrow slits and heart-shaped ornaments. A rear central projection is two stories high, with 20th‑century extensions on the sides. Inside, there is a single elliptical room. Historians describe Brankelow Cottage as a “charming eye-catcher.”
The cottage was built in 1797 for Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton. The architect is thought to be John Webb, who may also have helped design the nearby landscaped park at Combermere in the same period. It began as a model dairy; a summer sitting room decorated by the Cotton family daughters is also noted. It later became a gamekeeper’s cottage, with the end pavilions used as dog kennels. Now it stands as a folly on the estate.
Brankelow Cottage sits on the west side of Comber Mere, within Combermere Park, a little over 500 meters from the former abbey and from the memorial obelisk to Viscount Combermere. The park is privately owned, and there is no public access.
The name Brankelow has a long history with various spellings. It is thought to come from old words meaning “hill of the wood,” though this origin is not certain.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:01 (CET).