Axwell Park And Steps And Balustrades To South

Axwell Park, built in 1758 by architect Paine for Sir Thomas Clavering and constructed by John Bell of Durham, is a large house that underwent alterations between 1817 and 1818 by John Dobson. The building is made of ashlar stone and features a roof of graduated Lakeland slate. It stands three storeys high with a symmetrical facade consisting of three bays, three bays, and three bays across one, three, and one sections.

The south elevation showcases a cornice above a rusticated ground floor, with the central three bays projecting under an open pediment that contains a later corbelled coat of arms. There is a blocking course and cornice above a later central porch with rounded corners, which features a double door beneath a stilted fanlight set in a recessed arch with voussoirs. The ground floor windows are tall and have voussoirs, while the first floor windows are adorned with architraves and bracketed segmental pediments, except for some that have floating cornices. Most windows are sash, and the attic storey includes glazing bars. The eaves are decorated with a modillioned cornice.

The right return of the building has round-headed first floor windows set in arches above a bracketed balcony, from which the railings have been removed. The central window has a segmental bracketed pediment above its architrave. The roof is low-pitched with four ridges and features two corniced ashlar chimneys on each side.

The balustrade flanking the steps to the door curves out to wide corniced rectangular piers that support coats of arms, with pink granite slabs that are round-ended on the piers adjacent to the porch. Inside, the original main staircase has been removed, but the principal room retains a bracketed corniced doorcase and chimney piece, along with moulded panels.