Rock Hall

Rock Hall is a house of great architectural complexity, originating in the 13th or early 14th century and substantially modified over subsequent centuries.

The building began as a medieval house, probably with an H-shaped plan. In the late 14th or 15th century, the south wing was converted into a tower with an additional turret on its south side. Early in the 17th century it was remodelled for the Salkeld family, with extensions added to the west of the hall block. A serious fire in 1752 left parts of the structure ruined, particularly the north wing of the original H-plan. The building underwent significant restoration and extension during the 19th century. The south front was remodelled around 1820, attributed to the architect John Dobson, for the Bosanquet family, who added two semi-octagonal 2-storey blocks flanking the turret. A mid-19th century north-west wing was designed by F.R. Wilson.

The medieval parts are constructed of squared stone and rubble. The 17th-century sections use large rubble, while the early 19th-century parts employ tooled stone with tooled ashlar dressings. The north-west wing is of rubble with ashlar dressings. Roofing varies across the building: Welsh slates cover the north-west wing, the main block roof carries 20th-century waterproof covering, and the early 19th-century parts have flat leaded roofs.

The east elevation presents the most legible sequence. The main section rises three storeys across 1 + 3 + 1 bays, with a slightly recessed centre containing the hall block. A central blocked doorway within a moulded flat-pointed arch and square frame displays the Salkeld arms and a cable-moulded sundial above. A castellated bay window with wooden mullions and transoms on the left is probably early 19th-century in date; other windows are 17th-century, mullioned and transomed with 3 or 4 lights beneath hoodmoulds. The ground floor of the left bay reveals the large squared stonework of the earliest phase, with a chamfered set-back above. An inserted doorway with vertical-panelled double doors in a bolection-moulded eared surround flanks small loops. A straight joint near the left end marks the thickening of the original wall when the tower was constructed. Above this, the outline of an early medieval gable remains visible, with inserted 17th-century 3-light windows to the first and second floors and an embattled parapet. The right bay is largely ruined above first-floor level but displays similar masonry and the outline of another early medieval gable, with a gunloop above suggesting this wing was also raised into a tower.

The south elevation rises 2 + 3 storeys across 3 irregular bays. A recessed centre contains the turret of the late medieval tower, featuring a blocked loop window and an old corbelled-out parapet, with inserted 19th-century windows and an embattled porch with a flat-pointed doorway. Either side are projecting semi-octagonal 2-storey bays with 2- and 3-light mullioned-and-transomed windows beneath hoodmoulds and embattled parapets, now partly fallen.

The west elevation shows 2 + 3 storeys across 5 irregular bays. The centre contains a 17th-century wing with original windows, with the west wall of the tower set back on its right; in front of these sections are castellated early 19th-century single-storey offices. To the left of the 17th-century wing is an early 19th-century three-storey section with an embattled turret. The left end is the north-west wing, displaying mullioned-and-transomed windows and a crow-stepped gable; a similar gable appears on the left return.

The interior contains no exposed medieval or 17th-century features, though wall thicknesses reach up to 1.7 metres. The entrance lobby has an early 19th-century groined plaster ceiling, and some early 19th-century fireplaces display the Bosanquet arms.

Historically, Robert de Tuggal obtained permission to conduct divine service in a chapel here in 1359. In 1549, the hall served as headquarters for a band of Spanish mercenaries, engaged against the Scots, under Sir Julian Romero. The Salkelds held the property from 1620 to 1705, playing a prominent role in the Civil War in the area. At the time of survey, the building was in use as a youth hostel. It is a building of considerable importance but difficult to interpret fully without a comprehensive measured survey.