Newton Hall

Newton Hall is a country house located in Newton-on-the-Moor, built in 1772 for Samuel Cook, and possibly incorporating an earlier farmhouse in the north wing. The house was substantially enlarged and remodelled in 1864 by S.F. Widdrington, who designed the alterations, with plasterwork undertaken by Giovanni Montirolli.

The main block of the house is constructed of tooled ashlar, while the north-east wing is of smooth ashlar. Other parts are of squared stone, and the north wing has a rendered finish scored to imitate coursed stone. The roofs are of graduated Lakeland slate, with Welsh slates covering the north and north-east wings. The building follows an irregular plan.

The south elevation features a two-storey main block of seven bays. The second and third bays project and are topped with a balustraded parapet. A two-bay conservatory with a glazed front stands on a stone plinth between square piers with moulded caps and finials, flanking the ground-floor window to the right of the main block. The windows are plain sashes, taller on the ground floor, and set within architraves with projecting bracketed sills. The roof is hipped and has three stepped-and-corniced ridge stacks. To the right is the end of the north-east wing, with 12-pane and 6-pane sashes in architraves. Set further back to the left is a four-bay north-west wing with plain sashes in chamfered surrounds.

The east front, which serves as the entrance front, centres on a three-bay north-east wing with a pent-roofed passage below tall 12-pane and 6-pane sashes, all in architraves. A porch, featuring a six-panel door, a carved frieze, and a modillioned pediment displaying the Widdrington arms and motto, is located on the left end. To the left is a return of the main block, and to the right a lower north wing of two and one storeys with varied fenestration. The west elevation features a square ground floor bay window with a balustraded parapet, and a Venetian stair window with a radial head to the left.

Inside, the conservatory displays Italian niches, panels, and a fountain set into the walls, above a floor of marble tesserae. The entrance hall has half-glazed double doors within an elaborate surround with attached columns and cornice, and contains full-size murals depicting London Bridge and Venice, attributed to S.F. Widdrington. The drawing room has an 18th-century carved marble fireplace, an enriched cornice, and an elaborate ceiling in a mid-18th-century style. The library features a similar ceiling and a marble fireplace enclosing an early 19th-century wrought-iron grate with a radial convector hearth. The dining room also has a similar ceiling and fireplace. The stair hall contains a Venice mural and a 1918 Venetian screen. The staircase is an 18th-century open-string design with turned balusters, square knops, and a ramped moulded handrail. Throughout the house are 18th-century fielded-panel doors in corniced surrounds.