Littlehoughton Hall

Littlehoughton Hall

A house with a complex building history spanning from the late medieval period or 16th century to the 19th century. The centre part dates from the late medieval or 16th century, constructed as massive rubble. The north range was built in 1686, as evidenced by a dated fireplace bearing the initials ERM (Edward and Mary Roddam); this range is of rubble with cut stone dressings. The south block probably dates to 1818 and is built of tooled squared stone with tooled ashlar dressings. The north-west wing dates to probably the early 19th century and is constructed of whinstone rubble with cut sandstone dressings. The porch is a late 19th-century addition, built of tooled stone with tooled-and-margined dressings. The roof is Welsh slate except for pantiles on the north-west wing, with yellow brick chimney stacks.

The plan consists of a square south block and north range forming an L-shape, linked by the remnant of the medieval or 16th-century building, with a single-storey north-west wing extending to the west of the end of the north range.

The east entrance front is two storeys, arranged in three parts. A projecting left block of two wide bays stands above a plinth. To the right of centre is a flat-topped porch with panelled double doors in a chamfered surround beneath a cornice; a 12-pane sash window in a similar surround is positioned on the left return, with an overlight above the porch. Twelve-pane sash windows are set in raised stone surrounds. The hipped roof has a central rendered ridge chimney stack and an old stepped-and-corniced lateral stack on the right return. The right range's left bay represents the oldest part of the building, featuring a blocked square-headed door, an inserted 12-pane sash in a raised surround, and a small first-floor window. A coped right end gable sits on moulded kneelers, with an end chimney stack rebuilt on its old base. The 17th-century far right part has lower eaves but a higher ridgeline and comprises three bays. At the left an inserted casement with intersecting glazing bars is set in a richly-moulded doorway with a pointed arch within a square frame; above it is a small casement in an oval opening with remains of a cable-moulded surround. The centre bay contains renewed windows in old recessed chamfered surrounds where mullions have been lost; the right bay is behind the stable range.

The south front is two storeys and four bays, symmetrical in arrangement. A plinth and sill bands run across the elevation. Twelve-pane sash windows sit in architraves. A moulded eaves cornice supports the hipped roof.

On the west elevation, the south block features on its right a 12-pane sash stair window with an intersecting head, set under a keyed round arch with imposts. Rubble masonry of the medieval or 16th-century part extends to the left. On the far left the north range displays an inserted window in a gable-headed cross-passage doorway; two old chamfered windows with hoodmoulds are positioned on the first floor. The projecting north-west wing occupies the left, with two 12-pane sashes on the inner return.

The north elevation of the north range reveals a blocked roll-moulded window opening at first-floor level and a former two-light mullioned attic window, both under a gable with reverse-stepped coping.

Interior features include, in the oldest part, a large roll-moulded square-headed fireplace backing onto a former cross passage in the north wing. A doorway from this passage has an outer chamfered four-centred arch. To the north of the passage is the rear wall of a large blocked kitchen fireplace; at first-floor level above this is a dated fireplace with a moulded surround, corbelled-out lintel, and foliage-carved panels at the base of each jamb. A small first-floor window on the east of the oldest part is set in a larger recess, perhaps a former doorway. The south block contains six-panel doors and a dog-leg stair with stick balusters and a ramped moulded handrail.

Historical Context: The Hall was held by the Roddam family from the early 14th century until 1710. Historical records indicate that a tower 25 feet square with walls 5 feet thick and a barrel-vaulted basement was demolished in 1818. The Northumberland County History (Vol. II, p. 405) suggests that the oldest part of the present house forms part of this former tower, though the masonry appears more characteristic of the 16th century, as does the roll-moulded fireplace. This part may represent a wing added to the now-demolished tower.