Chipchase Castle

Chipchase Castle is a country house with significant phases of construction dating back to the 14th century, with major work in 1621 and the 18th century. Further alterations occurred in the 19th century. The house was initially built for Cuthbert Heron and later extended by John Dodds and John Dobson for the Reed family. Earlier building activity occurred under the Herons and Allgoods. The house is constructed from a mix of random rubble, dressed stone and ashlar, with stone roofs and Welsh slate roofs. It began as a tower and has evolved into a courtyard house.

The main front, dating from 1621, is in an E-shaped configuration, with three storeys and seven bays. The central three-storey section contains a doorway featuring moulded jambs, imposts, and a round arch framed by carved panels. Flanking the arch are half-fluted Ionic columns on bases decorated with strapwork and emblems of the Heron family. A frieze with blank arches, dentilled cornice, and obelisks supporting the Heron coat of arms sits above the columns. Canted mullioned-and-transomed bay windows are located above. A parapet with ornamental cresting and beasts bearing shields tops the facade. Recessed two-bay sections have 18th-century 12-pane sash windows within raised surrounds. The basement contains two-light mullioned windows. Projecting outer bays have two-storey mullioned-and-transomed bow windows; these are depicted with sashes in a 1784 drawing and have embattled parapets with beasts bearing shields. The second floor features 12-pane sashes. A string course runs above each floor, topped with an embattled parapet where round arches are surmounted by beasts above the outer bays, and diagonally-set octagonal chimneys are above each corner. The roof is hipped.

The left return displays a 14th-century tower on the left side, constructed from dressed stone. It has four storeys, with bartizans and machicolations supported by corbels. Classical detailing was applied in the mid-18th century to unify the facade. This section is three storeys high and nine bays wide, divided as 2:5:2. The recessed central five-bay section has steps leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. 12-pane sashes are set within moulded surrounds. A string course sits above each floor, and an embattled parapet tops the section.

The right return and rear of the house date from the mid-18th century, concealing older masonry behind. The two-storey rear of the tower showcases a blocked 14th-century two-light window with cusped ogee heads, and two corbelled garderobe chutes.

An early 19th-century single-storey service wing is attached to the north-west corner.

The interior of the tower includes a vaulted basement, a stone newel stair, and an original portcullis. In other areas of the house, there are several 18th-century plaster ceilings, particularly elaborate in the Music Room, which features Rococo detailing. An elaborate Jacobean overmantel is also found in the Music Room. Palladian doorcases are present, characterized by eared architraves and pulvinated friezes.