Abbeystead

Abbeystead is a country house built in 1886 by Douglas and Fordham as a shooting lodge for the Earl of Sefton. It is constructed of sandstone rubble and features slate roofs in an Elizabethan style. The layout consists of two main ranges at right angles, forming the south and east sides of an entrance courtyard, with subsidiary buildings surrounding a second courtyard on the east side. The house is two storeys high with attics and has irregular elevations that include mullioned or mullioned and transomed windows, projecting bay windows, and gables topped with ball finials. The south facade features four gabled projections of varying sizes and designs, with gabled attic dormers flanking the second projection. The chimneys have tall shafts. The main entrance is located on the north side of the range, accessed through a porch with a Tudor-arched doorway, above which are the Molyneux arms carved in stone. The east range includes a four-storey tower. Inside, the hall contains two moulded stone fireplaces dated 1887, with simple stone surrounds and fluted Ionic columnettes supporting small carved figures. The overmantles feature small panels displaying the Molyneux arms, and a timber arcade is located towards the rear of the room. Other rooms have ceilings with carved ribs and low-relief panels between them, while the staircase is adorned with barley-sugar balusters.