Smithills Hall

Smithills Hall

A large house, part now museum and part vacant, with origins as a medieval hall house from the early 14th century. The building was extended in the 15th or early 16th century with the addition of an east wing, followed by a late 16th-century west wing. The house was substantially remodelled and extended westwards by architect Devey around 1875.

Materials and Construction

The original building is constructed of roughly coursed and squared rubble with timber-framed internal partitions. The east wing is timber-framed on its west elevation and stone on the east. The west wing and 19th-century ranges are built of coursed and squared stonework with some decorative timber framing in the 19th-century additions. All roofs are stone flagged.

Plan and Exterior

The building follows a traditional hall-house plan with a hall range and two cross wings for the bower (parlour) to the east and service ranges to the west. The north and south elevations of the hall contain opposed chamfered arched doorways, with the north doorway enclosed in a porch. A re-cut five-light mullioned window appears in the north elevation, while the south elevation has round-headed mullioned lights, also re-cut. The parlour wing to the east displays a six-light stone mullioned window in its north gable, with three- and five-light wood mullioned windows above. Lower doorways have been inserted. Timber mullioned windows of five and seven lights face south, with heavy king post trusses and studding exposed in the gable ends, and square panelled framing with arched bracing visible in the south elevation.

The service wing to the west has a coved timber-framed gable with an upper six-light mullioned window and four-centred arched doorway below, along with a mullioned window and subsidiary door, all re-cut. The east wing projects from the corner of the original range and includes a corridor on its west side on each floor.

The garden front comprises two storeys with a three-window range including a full-height square bay window to the south, timber-framed with mullioned and transomed windows. A stone mullioned window appears in a narrow bay to the left and three-light mullioned windows on each floor to the right. A now-disused doorway is located to the left.

The chapel is arranged as a gabled range to the south with a five-light east window and three windows in the southern return, all mullioned and transomed. A doorway in the west gable return is accompanied by a four-light mullioned and transomed window above. The western elevation of this wing is framed in ornamental panelling with quatrefoils and is continuously fenestrated at first-floor level to a gallery, with wood mullioned and transomed windows. Below are mullioned and transomed windows of six and eight lights, one replacing a doorway in the mid-20th century. Coving runs to the eaves, with a small gabled projection to the north housing stairs.

The west wing's east elevation, as remodelled by Devey, features an arcaded six-bay passage on the ground floor with timber framing forming large braced square panels above. A four-window range includes two canted oriel windows. The stone south gable shows earlier construction with re-cut stone mullioned windows on each floor. The north elevation was refenestrated in the 19th century, though a blocked chamfered arched doorway from the original plan survives in its east wall.

The west range beyond appears partly from the 16th century, extended by Devey. The earlier section comprises a three-window range with two-light mullioned windows on each floor and small gables over each bay. A datestone (probably re-sited) dated 1579 bears the initials 'R.B.'. A 19th-century extension forms a two-window range in similar style. Beyond this, a wider gabled wing projects, linked by a single-storey range with a five-sided canted bay window incorporating a central oriel light and ball finials to the parapet. Two asymmetrical timber-framed gabled wings follow, with three-light mullioned and transomed windows in the right-hand gable and a semi-circular oriel above a doorway in the left. The north elevation of this range formed the main entrance front, with a storied porch timber-framed over stone and a round oriel window above. A two-window range appears to the left of the porch. The 16th-century west wing was also extended north-westwards with the addition of a parallel gabled range.

Interior

The great hall spans four bays with collar trusses, one arch-braced with an upper king post, cusped wind-braces, and a spere truss at the west end. The spere features octagonal posts with crown capitals and quatrefoil panelling. Four chamfered arched doors open into the service wall to the west of the former cross passage. The square-panelled east and west walls contain arch and tension bracing forming trefoiled and quatrefoil panels. An antechamber and bower lie to the east with deep moulded beams panelling the ceiling, probably 15th-century insertions. A massive stone chamfered arched side wall stack stands in the parlour. A small wing to the east has a heavy braced collar truss.

The east wing contains a long withdrawing room on the ground floor, partitioned to the south in the 19th century to form a vestry for the chapel which terminates the wing to the south. The room originally featured 16th-century wall panelling of enriched linen fold design incorporating busts and emblems of the Barton family in low relief. This panelling was removed in the 19th century and reinstated in the 20th century. The chapel was reconstructed following a fire around 1856, with a gallery over the former vestry (now a transept) to the north. Its fittings are largely from the early 20th century, with late 19th-century stained glass incorporating some 16th-century panels.

The interior of Devey's additions to the house was not inspected.