Gawsworth Old Hall is a GradeĀ I listed country house in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It is a timber-framed house in the Cheshire black-and-white style. The present house was built between 1480 and 1600, replacing an earlier Norman house. It was probably built as a courtyard house enclosing a quadrangle, but much of it has been demolished, leaving the house with a U-shaped plan.
Gawsworth Old Hall
Gawsworth Old Hall from the north
Mary Fitton was an Elizabethan gentlewoman who became a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth. She is noted for her scandalous affairs with William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Leveson, and others. She is considered by some to be the "Dark Lady" of Shakespeare's sonnets.
Portrait of Mary Fitton circa 1595
Double portrait by unknown artist of her sister Anne Newdigate and Mary Fitton in 1592