ONE of Frodsham’s oldest houses is set to be razed to the ground now that a path has been cleared to make way for its planned demolition.
Lisroan House, at 83 Fluin Lane, was the former home of The Earlams – one of the village’s most prominent families, but it has stood derelict ever since the last surviving member died in 2006.
The grand Edwardian-style building was one of the biggest houses built on Fluin Lane in the early 1900s, containing seven bedrooms, a drawing room, ornate fireplaces, a veranda, extended gardens and a tennis court.
For decades it was occupied by much-loved village doctor, Lawrence Earlam and his family, who would sometimes use the house as a consultant surgery for his patients.
After Dr Earlam’s death in 1993, his wife Jean-Frederica remained at Lisroan until she died in 2006.
Developers showed interest in demolishing the house to build up to 10 new homes before councillors, including Cllr Andrew Dawson, tried unsuccessfully to save the property from demolition by applying to English Heritage to list the property as a building of national importance.
The application was declined last year and developers were given the green-light to demolish the house and build four pairs of semi-detached and two detached homes on the site.
Since then, Lisroan has become more and more dilapidated, and has been virtually invisible due to the amount of overgrown trees and shrubs in front of it.
But last week the extensive greenery was removed, sparking speculation that the building could be demolished imminently.
Cllr Andrew Dawson said: “The planning applications are going ahead, which is a shame because this is a lovely Edwardian property dating from 1900 and sadly these types of properties are decreasing rapidly in Frodsham.
“Other houses on Fluin Lane have been demolished to make way for modern buildings but Lisroan is one of the biggest.
“We did our best to try and get it listed and were unsuccessful, but we were able to prevent vehicular access through neighbouring Silverdale Close which is immediately behind the site, so residents wouldn’t have put up with the extra traffic,” he added.
“In my view the building could be demolished soon but there could then be a pause for the market to change before the new homes are built.”
Kath Hewitt from Frodsham and District Local History Society, said the loss of Lisroan was ‘the end of an era’.
“It is a great shame. Many people in Frodsham remember it as a lovely home with a lovely family living in it,” she added.
“There is a lot of history in the house so it really is the end of an era.”
