Biddick Hall

Biddick Hall is a small country house with an early 18th-century core, incorporating an older structure. An east bay was added in 1859, marked by a dated rainwater head, and a north wing and rear additions were built in 1954-5 by E.M. Lawson and Partners. The main block's design reflects Baroque influences and is likely based on a sketch by Sir John Vanbrugh, who worked at Lumley Castle in 1721. The house is constructed of light-red, hand-made brick in Flemish bond, with painted stone dressings. Later additions use stretcher bond, and the roofs are not visible. Stone chimneys are present.

The main block has a double-pile plan with a massive spine wall. The symmetrical 5-bay entrance front features a dressed stone plinth and raised quoins. A central doorway, with an 8-pane overlight, is set within an architrave with a corniced hood supported by enriched consoles. The centre bay is framed by giant fluted Ionic pilasters, which rise to a pediment resting on an entablature with a pulvinated frieze. The windows are 12-pane sashes in architraves. Fluted lead rainwater heads with downcomers are visible, and a tall, panelled flat-coped parapet sits above a band. Stone vases adorn the parapet and pediment. Corniced ridge stacks are present. A set-back bay was added to the east. The similar 5-bay west return, lacking pilasters and a pediment, includes oeil-de-boeuf windows on both storeys of the centre bay. A split-level, flat-roofed rear wing dates from 1954.

Inside the main block, the ground-floor west wall and spine wall are approximately 1.5 metres thick. A narrow entrance hallway features a barrel-vaulted ceiling and an archway leading to a staircase hall with Doric pilasters, archivolt, and keystone. Two rooms flank the lobby: one to the east displays decoration and a fireplace from around 1880, designed by Henry Cheere, while the room to the west features an 18th-century fireplace adorned with rams' heads (a Lambton family insignia). A small bedroom behind the west room contains re-used 17th-century panelling and a corner fireplace. The two-storey staircase hall has a 3-flight cantilevered staircase with an approximately 1780 wrought-iron balustrade and a wreathed handrail. A panelled dado with a ramped rail runs alongside the staircase. Four- and six-panel doors are set within architraves. An egg-and-dart cornice is found on the ground floor, and the ceiling is slightly coved with arabesques and swags, potentially dating back to around 1745 and the work of La Francini. A 1960 Venetian window was added by Trenwith Wells. Two first-floor bedrooms include one on the south-west with a dentilled cornice and dado rail, and another on the south-east, which features a marble fireplace with Corinthian pilasters, a modillion cornice, and Chinese wallpaper. The rear wing incorporates re-used internal features from Lambton Castle, including a first-floor library with early 19th-century shelving and a marble fireplace with carved decor depicting stacked books.