Harperley Hall

WOLSINGHAM A68 (West side) NZ 13 NW 31/317 Harperley Hall 31.1.67 II

House, now County Constabulary offices. Late C18, for Marmaduke Cradock, and early C19. Main block sandstone ashlar; wing of coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings; roofs of graduated Lakeland slate and Welsh slate, with ashlar chimneys. Irregular plan. Symmetrical main block of 2 storeys, 5 windows: central many-panelled double door with side lights and large plain overlight in Roman Doric. stone surround with half-columns and triglyph frieze. 12-pane ground-floor sashes reaching to ground level, and 12-pane first-floor sashes, have fine glazing bars, raised stone surrounds and projecting stone sills; bracketed cornice over central first-floor window, the lower panes painted over. Chamfered quoins. Parapet on eaves band has top band. Wing set back at right 2 storeys, 5 windows, with quoins to first bay; windows mostly sashes with glazing bars, some with ventilators inserted.

Low-pitched hipped roofs. Left return has 6 windows with full-height 2-window square projecting bay at centre, and 3 windows in full-height bowed projection. Service wing right return has 2 full-height canted bays,with side and overlights, flanking entrance.

Interior: corniced marble chimney pieces in some ground-floor rooms, which also have a variety of stucco friezes and ceiling roundels; enriched window pelmets in bowed projection; 6-panel doors throughout in fluted architraves with corner paterae; door-panels and ground-floor panelled reveals have fine lugged beaded pattern. Dado rail in hall and dining room. First-floor hall has fluted frieze with paterae. Late C19 square open-well stair in Jacobean style has square newels with obelisk finials.

Sources: Hutchinson History of County Durham I 1857, 630 and Conyers Surtees History of Thornley and Tow Law 1926, 21-24.

Listing NGR: NZ1272634476