The Wine Cellar

At the hub of all country estates were the cellars, where supplies of food, wine and fuel were stored and later, water was  heated in the boilerhouses.

The butler had control of the wine and beer cellars along with the coal store, all of which were situated within easy reach of the butler’s pantry upstairs.

In the wine cellar, the butler kept account of the stock of wines and labelled each of the bins for easy reference. The outer part of this cellar was used as a receiving cellar for unpacking and washing bottles, and for recording stocks as they arrived.

Three enormous Cellar Books survive covering the period 1844 to 1909 during three generations of Egerton ownership. Over the 66 years recorded, 51,000 bottles were listed here for consumption by the Egerton household either at Tatton or at their other houses.