Halton Castle

NY 96 NE WHITTINGTON HALTON

17/112 Halton Castle

GV I

Country house. C13 or early C14, C15 and C17. Dressed stone with stone slate roofs. Irregular plan. Garden front has 4-storey, late C14 tower projecting on left. It has several slit windows and a one-light C14 window with cusped head on 2nd floor; similar window on right return. 1st floor has 16-pane sash in C17 roll-moulded surround, and a similar surround to 2-light mullioned window on right return with coat of arms of Carnaby over. Corbelled bartizans and original crenellations. Attached to right a 2-storey, 5-bay house of c1700. 3 steps up to doorway with bolection-moulded surround and scrolled pediment. Stone cross windows with cornices. Gabled roof with kneelers and coping and 2 tall renewed brick stacks on stone bases.

Left return, i.e. to rear of tower is largely medieval. It is in 2 sections: 1st section next to tower predates the tower. Of this period only masonry survives. It has C17 stepped buttress and large external stack on corbels at 1st floor level. C17 2- and 3-light mullioned windows.

Left of this a projecting cross wing which in part also predates the tower. Of this period masonry and a doorway inside with shouldered lintel. The rest is part of C15 hall house of which much was demolished in C17. It now has C18 and early C19 door and windows. Gabled roofs with brick stacks on stone bases.

Space between these ranges is partly filled in with later building including present entrance on right return, made Georgian in mid C20.

Interior: Tower has tunnel-vaulted ground floor, doors with 4-centred heads and stone newel stair. C17 house has open-well stair with twisted balusters. Older wings have 2 stone newel stairs, remains of screens passage with broach- stopped beams and C16 hall ceiling with finely moulded beams.

Halton Castle Reconsidered: Borne & Dixon. Archeologia Aeliana 1978.

Listing NGR: NY9971867841