Blake Hall Farmhouse

Farmhouse, probably dating from the 16th century and representing altered remains of a reduced H-plan hall-house. It is constructed of roughcast brick with stone quoins, and has a slate roof. The building is arranged in a T-shape, with a one-bay hall range and a two-bay crosswing on the left. It has two storeys. The front of the hall boasts mullioned windows, including a stone mullion window with five lights, featuring ovolo and fillet decoration to the mullions, jambs, and head, and a chamfered sill. A recessed six-light window is visible at the rear on each floor, the lower window having a hood mould; both are recessed with chamfered mullions and rendered over. A small, square window, resembling a firewindow, is located at the first floor to the left of the six-light window. Inside, substantial timbers are present on both floors in both the hall and crosswing, including one lateral and two longitudinal beams in the hall with cyma-stopped broad chamfers. A large hearth beam or bressummer, visible in the passage behind the present entrance, is backed by an irregular projection, potentially part of a smoke hood. The first floor also features chamfered beams, including three in the crosswing which suggest the presence of corresponding roof trusses. Historically, the house served as a home for the Midgehall family in the 16th and 17th centuries. A Catholic missionary priest, Thomas Whitaker, was captured at Blake Hall in 1643 and subsequently hanged, drawn, and quartered at Lancaster in 1646. The farmhouse formerly contained a carved oak table lettered “A.M.1630.” Similar reduced hall-houses in the parish include Bullsnape Hall, Ashes White Hill, and White Lee farmhouses.