Thurland Castle

Thurland Castle is a large house, primarily dating from the 1880s and designed by Paley and Austin, but incorporating much earlier fabric. The earliest parts of the building date back to the 14th century. In 1643, during the Civil War, the castle was left in ruins, and it was subsequently restored in 1809 by Jeffrey Wyatt and in 1829 by Webster. A fire in 1879 necessitated significant rebuilding, though many original walls were retained. The house is constructed of sandstone rubble with slate roofs and is composed of two ranges forming the north and west sides of a courtyard, which meet at an acute angle.

The windows are predominantly mullioned or mullioned and transomed, appearing to be from the 1880s rebuilding. A three-story tower with an embattled parapet and corner turret projects from the left side of the south wall of the north range and is believed to have been added by Wyatt. To the right of the tower, the south facade is two stories with an attic, displaying two bays with paired windows on the first floor. A doorway of early 14th century design, featuring a cusped pointed arch with worn carved ornament on the jambs, is situated between the bays. It is thought to have originally led into the hall, which was located at the right-hand end of the range. The west wall of the east range features a stair window with three transoms, a two-story canted section, and a two-story tower with a blank upper stage and an embattled parapet. To the right, a single-story porch and billiard room, also with embattled parapets, project forward in front of Webster’s additions. The porch is built of ashlar and has diagonal buttresses, a pointed doorway, and a two-light window with a pointed head above. The billiard room is illuminated by paired cross windows with trefoiled lights. The north and east facades, which face outwards towards the moat, utilize the complex building history to produce an irregular composition.

The interior contains ground-floor rooms panelled to dado height with ribbed plaster ceilings. The drawing room, at the south end of the east range, has two-bay windows featuring armorial glass in the upper lights, a marble fireplace and overmantel in a Gothic style within a panelled recess. The dining room, towards the north end of the same range, has a timber fireplace surround and an overmantel with a carved shield of arms, crest, and motto on its central panel. The staircase, also in this range, possesses a closed string and turned balusters. The library, located at the northeast angle of the house on the first floor, has walls of sandstone ashlar above oak panelling with fitted oak bookshelves and a northern oriel window. A fireplace recess with a moulded arch and carved decoration, including an armorial panel over the fireplace, is found at the south end. A dividing wall on the west side is pierced by a wide moulded Tudor arch with ribbed panels on the soffit.