Rufford Old Hall

Rufford Old Hall is a manor house situated on Liverpool Road, Rufford, originally belonging to the Hesketh family and now managed by the National Trust. The core of the building dates to the late 15th century and has undergone significant restoration, with a wing added in 1662 and a further addition constructed in 1821, as indicated by rainwater heads.

The hall is timber-framed with an external stone chimney, while the wing is built of handmade brick with stone quoins, both resting on stone plinths and covered with stone slate roofs. It was likely originally an H-plan building, but the west wing was removed, and the east wing was rebuilt in 1662 and again in 1821. The open hall is box-framed, spanning 7 bays, with a screen passage at its east end, a semi-octagonal oriel window on the north side’s west end, and decorative detailing on the north front including closely-set studs below a rail, quatrefoil panels, and windows above it. Coved eaves run along the top. A four-centred arched doorway is framed by carved spandrels. The oriel window is almost fully glazed with wooden mullion and transom windows. A restored lantern sits on the roof, likely replacing a former smoke louvre. The west end bears two doorways, originally leading to the west wing. The south side features a large stone chimney stack and three large windows with eight lights, employing wooden mullions and transoms. At the east end, between the hall and wing, are 19th-century gabled bays designed to match the hall’s style.

The east wing, constructed in 1662, extends northwards and is a single depth, spanning 5 bays, with two-and-a-half storeys (using a distinct brickwork above the first floor). The wing is nearly symmetrical, featuring a doorway slightly offset to the right of centre, four windows on the ground floor, five on the first floor, and four large gabled dormers. All windows have segmental relieving arches and diamond lattice glazing. They are cross-windows, except for the dormers which have two-light casements. A plaque carved with the Hesketh family’s double-headed eagle is situated between the second and third windows on the first floor, accompanied by a label above and the date 1662 below. The rear of this wing includes a square, four-stage embattled stair tower featuring doorways on the ground floor and a three-light mullioned window with a label on each floor above, coupled with an embattled chimney stack. An addition from 1821 extends southward in a style and using materials consistent with the original hall and wing. A service wing was added to the north end.

The hall's interior boasts five hammerbeam roof trusses, a spire truss, five service doorways, and a free-standing carved oak screen. The interior is described as having "an exuberance of decoration matched nowhere else in England" (Pevsner). The wing's interior contains a large segmental-arched stone fireplace, stopped 1/4-round moulded beams on both floors, and a cross-corner fireplace at the first floor.