Bavington Hall

Country house dating to the late 17th century, with alterations and extensions dating circa 1720, an early 19th-century roof rebuild and upper storey alteration, and a further addition circa 1930. Originally for the Shafto family, the work of circa 1720 was undertaken for Admiral Delaval. The house is constructed of dressed stone, with rough cast on the garden side, and has Welsh slate roofs. It is a double span building with a 2-storey, L-shaped addition to the left.

The entrance front has a main block of seven bays, exhibiting alternating rusticated quoins. A central 6-panelled door is set within a round-arched Gibbs surround, complemented by a large triple keystone. Ground-floor windows feature raised surrounds with triple keystones and 18-pane sashes with thick glazing bars. Similar glazing bars are present in the architraves above the first-floor windows. The architraves of the second-floor windows were enlarged in the early 19th century when the roof was raised, housing 9-pane sashes with thin glazing bars. A panelled cornice was added at this time. A 2-storey, four-bay wing, likely from the 17th century, adjoins the right side, featuring 8-pane sashes with thick glazing bars on the ground floor, and Yorkshire sashes above. A projecting kitchen wing displays a fine ashlar facade but retains older masonry to the rear. A projecting, pedimented centre of one tall storey, two bays wide, is flanked by two single, 2-storey bays. Central, tall round-arched windows are set within architraves. Flanking ground-floor windows have 24-pane sashes with thick glazing bars; oculus windows are found on the first floor.

The garden front, also of seven bays, features a door with a Gibbs surround, a robust triple keystone, and a pediment. Sash windows, with intermediate glazing bars removed, are set within raised surrounds. The second-floor windows are similar to those on the entrance front. A circa 20th-century, 2-storey, four-bay addition, replicating the style of the main house, extends to the right.

Both spans are characterised by shaped gables with kneelers and numerous octagonal chimneys with concave cornices.

Internally, there are two panelled rooms on the ground floor. One features a fireplace with terms and a scrolled, pedimented overmantel. The other has enriched panelling, a fireplace flanked by full-height Corinthian pilasters, and an enriched modillion cornice. An earlier panelled room on the first floor has a fireplace with a pulvinated surround and a frieze decorated with plaster heads and angels. Many other fireplaces from the 17th, early 18th, and early 19th centuries remain. Numerous 2-panelled doors are found in the front block, with 6-panelled doors elsewhere. A late 17th-century open-well staircase features vase balusters and a heavily-moulded handrail. A single, 2-light, double-chamfered mullioned window is incorporated into a former external wall.