Baguley Hall

Baguley Hall

Manor house, subsequently farmhouse. Probably mid 14th century, with late medieval north wing (remodelled in the 17th century), 16th century porch, and late 17th or early 18th century south wing; altered. Timber-framed hall with timber-framed north wing subsequently cased in brick, brick south wing, and stone slate roofs (renewed).

The building is arranged on an H-plan: a two-and-a-half bay open hall on a north-south axis with slightly bowed sides, wings of approximately three bays each, and a porch in the north-west angle. The hall is tall and single-storey, with a two-storey porch and two-and-a-half storey wings.

The hall features a chamfered sandstone plinth and an extremely unusual timber frame composed of massive planks, with verticals serving dual function as posts and studs. The north-west corner is formed by a huge L-shaped post approximately one metre square on the outer faces. The frame has massive sills and wall-plates, and cusped cross-bracing in the vertical panels. There is a two-centred arched doorway at the north end with wooden hoodmould and the stump of a former finial, a small ogee-headed window to the right of the doorway, and tall wooden-mullioned windows of three and four lights in the first and second main bays respectively (with corresponding windows to the rear wall).

The porch is of post-and-rail construction with a jettied upper floor, featuring diagonal bracing to a square-headed outer doorway, close-studding in the side wall, square panelling, and a three-light mullioned window at first floor. The gable has a herringbone-braced kingpost truss with oversailing verges.

Each wing has a three-course band and segmental-headed windows. The north wing has a tripartite window at ground floor, two transomed six-light casements at first floor and a similar but smaller window to the attic, and a lean-to addition to its return side. The south wing has stone-mullioned two-light cellar windows, one six-light window on each floor and remains of former tall flat-arched windows (one at ground floor and two at first floor), and a blocked or blind oculus in the gable. Its south return side has a large stair-window offset left, two windows to the left and three to the right on each floor (mostly restored sashes with exposed boxes), plus a small doorway below the stair-window. Its east gable has an extruded chimney stack finished as two flues with tumbled brick between.

The interior contains a spere truss at the north end and an arch-braced open truss between bays, rising from "posts" which are really mouldings on the inner faces of the central plank-posts. There is a very fine common-rafter roof with curved scissor-braces longitudinally linked by a central purlin. The north cross wall has three two-centred-arched service doorways with cusped panels above, and a roof truss with a massive splay-footed crown-post "plank", cross-bracing and cusped and quatrefoil panels. The posts, wall-plates and window mullions and sills have moulded decoration.

In the north wing are double-chamfered beams carrying unusual joist-planks and a large inglenook fireplace with timber bressummer. At first floor are remains of a 17th century turned baluster staircase including an unusual balustraded screen (presumably a borrowed light to the former upper flight). The south wing contains a staircase with turned balusters unusually widely spaced.

The building was mostly stripped out at the time of survey.