Heskin Hall

Heskin Hall

Manor house dated 1670 on its rainwater head, though probably of earlier origin; altered and enlarged during the 19th century. The building is constructed of thin handmade brick with blue diaper patterns and sandstone dressings, beneath a blue slate roof.

The house forms an L-shaped plan composed of a south-facing hall range with projecting gabled wings, and a north-east wing to the rear, with 19th-century additions in the rear angle. It rises to two storeys with attics and presents a complex stepped facade of five unequal gables. The tripartite right wing consists of a 2½-storey gabled centre with a smaller gabled 2-storey porch to its left and a stairturret closet wing to its right. The left wing rises 2½ storeys and gables; a further gabled attic rises behind the parapet over the hall. The porch is reached by two semi-circular steps and has a Tudor-arched outer doorway with chamfered jambs and hoodmould, with a studded oak inner door. At first floor is a small chamfered window with hoodmould. The stairturret contains one similar window on each floor. The principal gable of this wing and the gable of the left wing each have 19th-century 2-storey canted bay windows. Both gables retain 17th-century 3-light attic windows; that in the right wing has a hoodmould but now lacks mullions. The hall range, set back between the wings, has a 2-storey canted bay with a 3-stage transomed and mullioned window at ground floor and a similar 2-stage window above, finished with a stone parapet. To the right of this bay is a mullioned and transomed 6-light window with a 2-light window above; to the left is one small chamfered window on each floor. In the attic gable is a 3-light window with hoodmould. All gables have stone copings.

A large 2-flue chimney stack rises from the junction of the right wing and its stairturret. The rainwater head at this junction is lettered T M.

The west gable end is dominated by an elaborate external chimney stack dated 1670, featuring large offsets on its left side and moulded corbelled flues at first floor and attic levels, terminating in three octagonal chimneys. At ground floor this stack contains two small arched recesses (possibly beeboles) and a blind doorway with 4-centred head, framed by the lowest offset. To the left of the chimney is a large 9-light mullion and transom window at ground floor, with a 2-light window on each floor above, all with hoodmoulds; the right jambs of the lowest and highest windows are partly overlapped by the chimney stack. Breaks in coursing at attic level suggest that the rear roof slope has been raised and an attic window inserted.

The east end is dominated by a 3-storey stairturret with a 2-storey wing to the front, featuring a chamfered rear corner with a corbelled gable over it. It has six triple-chamfered stairlights and two similar windows to closets, all with hoodmoulds.

The north-east wing, possibly of later 17th-century date, comprises three bays and 2½ storeys with three gables. It has recessed transomed windows with straight drip moulds, mostly of nine lights; those at ground floor of the first bay are vertical-rectangular cross-windows, while those in the gables are of eight lights. The very thick west wall of this wing contains an extruded octagonal stairturret with an arched doorway at ground floor and corbelled gable, together with three stacks of chimneys, though much is now covered by later additions and creeper.

Interior

The principal interior feature of interest is the drawing room in the west wing, which is panelled to its full height with Renaissance oak wainscot. It features fluted Ionic pilasters with architrave, inlaid frieze and shallow cornice; the bays have geometrical square panels framed by fluted pilasters with elaborate inlaid panels above and below and open fretwork cresting.

In the attic are remains of a long gallery, created after the first building phase, with a small fireplace at its west end. The rear wing at ground floor contains a tripartite kitchen fireplace. The floors above contain lodgings with timber-framed partition walls, stone fireplaces (mostly blocked) and garderobe closets built into the chimney stacks; access to these lodgings is via a spiral newel oak staircase in the turret. Most internal doorways and fireplaces have 4-centred heads; some have been altered or inserted. The 19th-century additions to the rear are of lesser interest.