Gawthorpe Hall And Surrounding Balustrade

Gawthorpe Hall is a country house built between 1600 and 1605 for Reverend Lawrence Shuttleworth, possibly following plans influenced by Robert Smythson. The house was altered around 1850-1860 by Sir Charles Barry for Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth and now serves as a museum. It is constructed of coursed sandstone with ashlar dressings and is the only example in the county of the late Elizabethan style associated with Smythson, similar to notable buildings like Wollaton, Hardwicke, Bolsover, and Worksop.

The building features a compact rectangular plan surrounding a tower, which is off-centre and possibly of medieval origin. It has high three-storey elevations over a basement kitchen, with the basement exposed at the rear, making it effectively four storeys. The symmetrical five-bay facade includes a full-height porch and flanking semi-octagonal bays. Notably, the great hall is positioned to one side rather than in the center.

Inside, there are original features of particular interest, including a screen and gallery in the hall, panelling and plasterwork in the dining room (now the drawing room), overmantels in two first-floor chambers, and a long gallery on the second floor.

Additionally, the property includes a surrounding 19th-century balustrade, approximately 2 meters from the house walls, made of stone in a Jacobean style with openwork and obelisk finials on the pedestals.