Rivington Hall

Rivington Hall is a manor house, now used as premises for the North West Water Authority. The building displays a complex construction history, with sections dating back to the late 15th century, followed by alterations and additions in 1694, 1700, and 1774, alongside later 19th-century extensions. The oldest surviving parts are located at the rear and are constructed from coursed thin sandstone rubble with quoins; the upper floors utilise watershot coursed squared sandstone. The front range, built in 1774, is of brick with stone dressings, with a slate roof. A late 19th-century wing extends to the rear east corner.

The Hall now presents a U-shaped plan, facing southwest. The front range is a double-pile addition constructed around the earlier rear courtyard. The symmetrical front range is two storeys high and features five bays, with a pedimented centre. It includes a stone plinth, a band, a moulded cornice, and a parapet concealing a two-span roof with gable chimneys. The central doorway, approached by four steps, is set within a pedimented stone architrave. There are four 15-pane sash windows on the ground floor and five 12-pane sashes on the first floor, all with splayed stone heads. Rainwater heads bear the date 1774. A prominent late 19th-century wing features a two-storey canted bay.

The rear doorway has a moulded surround and lintel lettered in relief “16 W B 94”. A restored single-light window is located to the left of this, and further left a six-light window features cavetto mullions and a hoodmould. Above this, an added storey is finished in watershot masonry, built with brick. A northwest wing, similarly raised, incorporates a blocked four-light mullioned window under a hoodmould, projecting at the junction angle. On the first floor, three windows resemble those of the 16th century, with round-headed lights, hollowed spandrels, and chamfered flush mullions (two, two, and one light). A carved datestone lettered "B" is positioned between the second and third window. Quoins and a kneeler dated "W M 1700" are located at the corner. A low, two-storey single-bay addition is situated alongside, with a doorway at the junction, showcasing 3-light chamfered flush mullion windows on each floor, quoins, and a large brick gable chimney. The opposite side of this wing contains the returned ends of a hoodmould and jambs of a former mullioned window, with a large inserted window and two blocked 2-light windows positioned above.

The interior has undergone alterations, but the ground floor of the rear section retains chamfered, hacked beams. The front range contains a stairwell with Adam-style decoration in the lantern.