Wrightington Hall, including attached north service wing

Wrightington Hall is an early 18th-century country house now serving as a hospital conference centre and offices. Substantially altered in 1860–1862, it has undergone further modifications throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The building is constructed of coursed squared pale-grey sandstone with pinkish tones on the north, south and west elevations, and pink sandstone on the east elevation, all with yellow sandstone ashlar dressings. The roof is hipped slate with attic dormer windows. The hall stands two storeys tall with basement and attic. An attached north service wing of varying height, built in phases from the 1860s through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, uses matching materials.

Layout

The main hall has a rectangular plan with two shallow projecting wings on the east side and a large porch added around 1860 on the west. A long former service wing extends from the north side. To the northwest stands a former nurses' home with an irregular U-shaped plan that abuts the north service wing; this nurses' home is excluded from the listing.

Exterior: Main Hall

All four elevations feature quoined corners. The three principal elevations facing west, east and south have tall ground floor windows and shorter first floor windows with carved stone surrounds. Most of the hall's original multipaned sashes have been replaced by late-19th-century plate-glass sashes and 20th-century three-light casements. Round-arched attic dormer windows from the 19th century contain a mixture of sashes and casements. The hipped roof has dentilled eaves and four substantial chimneystacks rising from the four corners of the central roof section.

The seven-bay east elevation, originally the main entrance front, is built of pink sandstone with yellow ashlar dressings and contains 20th-century three-light casements. It is symmetrical, with a three-bay central section flanked by two outer bays at each end that project slightly forward. One ground floor window in the left (south) wing has been lengthened to create a doorway. A stringcourse set between the ground and first floors continues around to the south and west elevations. The former main entrance, with carved surround and scrolled pediment, occupies the centre of the ground floor and contains 20th-century French windows. The basement windows are now largely concealed by a 19th-century garden terrace wrapping around the south elevation (separately listed at Grade II). Five small round-arched 19th-century dormer windows pierce the roof.

The five-bay south elevation, formerly the garden front, has 20th-century three-light casements on both floors and two 19th-century round-arched dormer windows in the roof. Pink sandstone ashlar quoining at the west corner contrasts with yellow sandstone ashlar quoining at the east. A later blocked doorway exists at the far right of the ground floor. As with the east elevation, the basement windows are largely hidden by the garden terrace, with railing-enclosed light wells marking their locations.

The seven-bay west elevation now forms the principal front. A large single-storey flat-roofed porch built around 1860 dominates the elevation, concealing the ground floor level of the three central bays. The porch, accessed by shallow stone steps, is built of yellow ashlar with three large glazed round arches to the front and one at each end. The central arch contains glazed and panelled double doors forming the main entrance, with further doors in the north and south arches. Pilasters separate the arches, supporting a plain entablature. Surmounting the centre of the entablature is a cartouche with scrolled sides bearing a relief of the Dicconson coat of arms. Low curving wing walls punctuated by square piers and topped with decorative cast-iron railings project from each end of the porch. The central first floor window above the porch is wider than the others, and a very small later window with ashlar surround sits at the far left of the first floor. Five 19th-century round-arched dormer windows exist in the roof.

At the far left (north) end adjoining the main hall is a three-bay three-storey link block connecting the house to the remains of an earlier partly timber-framed hall demolished around 1929. The two lower storeys are believed to date from around 1860–1862; differences in window size and stonework colouring suggest the top floor was added later. This link block forms part of the north wing. The storeys do not align with the main floor levels on the west elevation, likely reflecting its original function connecting halls of different heights. Pilasters divide the bays, rusticated below capitals set at the first floor mid-point corresponding with the main house stringcourse. Ground floor windows have pedimented surrounds; upper floor windows lack pediments. The former nurses' home abuts and partially conceals the north end of this elevation (excluded from listing).

The plainer north elevation serves as a service elevation, partly hidden by the later north wing. It rises three storeys, but window levels do not correspond with the rest of the building due to changes in external ground level, making the basement appear as ground floor on this side. Four visible bays have windows on each floor with plain lintels. Basement and first floor windows are taller than ground floor windows. Upper floor windows have plain surrounds of varying stone sizes, while basement windows have hoodmoulds and retain their 18th-century multipaned sashes. A stepped continuous hoodmould runs above the ground floor plate-glass sash windows. The top floor has 20th-century three-light casements. One original top floor window has been replaced by two smaller windows lighting later toilets (the original lintel survives). Two 19th-century round-arched attic dormer windows and later skylights exist in the roof.

Exterior: North Wing

The north wing (also called the service wing) uses the same materials as the main house with quoined window surrounds. Map evidence and historic photographs reveal the three-storey link block was mainly built around 1860–1862, with remaining elements added between 1893 and 1908, replacing part of a wing of the old hall that contained a Roman Catholic chapel. All blocks comprising the wing have parapets concealing the roofs. The three-bay link block's plain east side has a central doorway to the basement flanked by two-over-two sash windows, plate-glass sash windows on upper floors, and a single window on the top floor's north return.

Attached to the north end of the link block is a short four-bay single-storey flat-roofed block with a canted west wall observable internally. This angled wall was likely required due to the alignment of old hall remains surviving until demolition around 1929. The east elevation has a doorway with two-light overlight at far left, with tall windows to the right incorporating plate-glass sashes below and two-light fixed panes above. Rising above and behind is the only visible part of the nurses' home's east elevation, which abuts the north wing and has been faced in pale sandstone to complement the main hall (this element is excluded from listing).

To the north sits a similarly styled flat-roofed two-storey block with asymmetrical fenestration: four plate-glass sash windows and a doorway on the ground floor, three windows on the first floor. A further doorway at mezzanine level between floors, far right, is accessed via a short bridge from the yard area, leading to a stair up to the first floor. Two substantial chimneystacks rise from the centre and west side of the roof. The west elevation faces a small yard area. Due to the yard's higher ground level, the ground floor appears as a basement on this side, accessed via stone steps down. An open doorway leads to an open passageway with painted stonework walls lit by two segmental-arched openings, accessing boiler rooms (some nearly double height internally) located beneath the yard and part of the neighbouring nurses' home. The passageway's east wall incorporates two windows (one blocked) and a blocked doorway. The first floor has two windows—one retaining plate-glass sashes, the other converted to a doorway accessing a fire escape. A smaller sash window exists far right, and far left is a plate-glass sash window at mezzanine level, possibly lighting a now-removed internal stair.

At the far north end of the north wing stands a tall single-storey block (nearly double height internally) with a hipped slate roof rising above the parapet, incorporating lead ball finials, a truncated central ventilator, and a substantial chimneystack rising from the north wall. The east elevation has a central doorway flanked by sash windows (all with three-light overlights); the west elevation has three windows. A doorway with plank and batten door exists at the southwest corner adjacent to the yard stair accessing the boiler room passageway.

Interior: Main Hall

Internally the hall has undergone extensive mid-to-late 19th-century alterations, with further 20th and 21st-century modifications. Original 18th-century interiors have largely been lost apart from some ceiling decoration, and the layout has been reconfigured. A number of 18th-century eight-panel doors with raised and fielded panels and moulded architraves survive, but others have been replaced. Chimneybreasts mostly survive, though fireplaces have been removed or replaced except for two probable 18th-century fireplaces in the basement. Several ground-floor windows have moulded architraves and deep reveals, some with shutters.

The entrance porch, with herringbone-patterned quarry tile floor, leads into a large stair hall with marble floor, panelled dado, wall panels and a plasterwork ceiling incorporating a large decorative ceiling rose. The hall contains a wide mid-to-late 19th-century open-well stair with closed string, panelled newel posts, pendants and barley twist balusters. The stair rises on three sides to a long first floor landing on the north side, with a doorway in the south wall of the half landing leading into a subdivided former bedroom.

Off the northwest corner of the stair hall is a room with an early-to-mid 18th-century richly decorated plaster ceiling incorporating a mutuled cornice and cove decorated with busts, scrolls and trophies of arms. The north wall has a very deep chimneybreast with early 20th-century fire surround and an adjacent later doorway leading through to a larger, plainer room with two tall alcoves in the north wall that were originally windows before the link around 1860–1862 was added. This room also has an early 20th-century fire surround and a doorway in the east wall leading to an 18th-century north service stair.

Off the southwest corner of the main stair hall, a doorway leads into a long room with very high ceiling running nearly the full length of the south elevation. Tall 10-panel doors separate this room from a smaller room at the east end. The larger room is believed to have been the original location of the 18th-century room now displayed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Both rooms contain early 20th-century fire surrounds and decorative plaster ceiling mouldings believed to be mainly 19th century, although a modillion cornice in the larger room has been suggested as possibly 18th century. However, a photograph of the room in Philadelphia shows an identical modillion cornice in situ, suggesting the original was most likely sold to America with the rest of the room and a copy was integrated into the 19th-century ceiling work at Wrightington.

A doorway in the east wall of the stair hall leads into a large garden-overlooking room converted into a lecture theatre in 2000. A timber fire surround with arched stone insert exists on the south wall, with an adjacent doorway east accessing the smaller of the two south rooms; a corresponding doorway west accesses a cupboard but may have originally led through to the larger south room.

A doorway in the stair hall's north wall accesses a short corridor with vaulted ceiling and quarry-tiled floor leading to an 18th-century service stair and the north wing. The corridor has a blocked segmental-arched doorway in the east wall with imposts styled as capitals, and a similar round-headed arch at the north end partly blocked up with a door inserted. Later built-in cupboards exist on the west wall.

The 18th-century north service stair rises the full height of the house, comprising a dog leg stair with closed string, square panelled newel posts, moulded handrail, turned balusters on upper flights and splat balusters on the basement flight. A 19th-century inserted doorway on the stair's first floor half landing with four-panel door formerly led into a large first floor room on the north side of the main stair's landing but has since been blocked up with the door left in-situ. Off the north side of each service stair landing is a stair flight from around 1860–1862 connecting to the three-bay link block at the south end of the north wing.

The hall's northeast corner ground floor has been altered and now comprises two rooms, a lobby area and a mid-to-late 20th-century lift shaft.

The hall's first floor rooms have been largely subdivided to create office space and are plain. A room at the top of the main stair on the north side of the first floor landing has an early 20th-century fire surround and a small later doorway in the north wall accessing a short passageway through to the neighbouring room behind, which has its principal doorway on the first floor landing of the north service stair. Another room on the south side of the building has had a later cast-iron spiral stair inserted to provide additional fire escape access for attic rooms. A room at the southwest corner of the first floor contains a short winder stair with ramped handrail leading to the half landing of the main stair.

The attic has a spine corridor running north-south, top-lit by skylights, with plain rooms off each side and ladder access up to the roof.

At the foot of the 18th-century service stair's basement flight is a small lobby area with the lift and a large modernised room now used as a training/meeting room east, with a smaller room beyond containing a chimneybreast and quarry tile floor. A short passageway leads around west then south from the lobby to the rear of the stair and the main part of the hall's basement, which has a spine corridor with quarry tile floor and rooms off each side—stone flag floors in functional storage rooms and floorboard floors in more domestic rooms (possibly butler/housekeeper rooms originally). Early plain painted stone fire surrounds with later cast-iron inserts and tiling survive in two rooms, along with a 1920s/30s fireplace in one room which also contains stone urn finials in storage from the garden terrace. Four rooms at the south end of the basement on the east side and one room on the west side have barrel vaulted ceilings. Doors are a mixture of four-panel doors, plank and batten doors, and larder/pantry doors with integral ventilation grilles and sliding shutters. At the south end of the corridor is a fire exit.

Interior: North Wing

The three-storey link block's ground floor, set at the hall's basement level, has a corridor alongside the east wall (replicated on each upper floor) with quarry tiled floor, a large external doorway to the centre, and visible 20th-century service pipes running along the ceiling. A large room on the west side with parquet floor is now used as a library. At the northwest corner is a stair flight connecting up into the neighbouring former nurses' home (excluded from listing), replicated on each upper floor. On the first floor the west side of the corridor (possibly two rooms originally) has been converted into toilets accessed through three doorways containing six-panel doors with raised and fielded panels; one doorway is believed to have been moved and another inserted with a re-used door set within modern architrave. The south end of the second floor corridor and the link stair leading down to the hall's 18th-century north stair landing are top-lit by a roof lantern. On the west side of the second floor corridor are two altered rooms latterly used as offices. A 1930s tiled fireplace exists in the north room. The east wall of the second floor corridor incorporates a shallow built-in cupboard.

The rest of the north wing's interior, now used as laboratories, storage rooms and offices, has also been altered, except for the retention of some original floor coverings and five-panel doors with raised and fielded panels and moulded architraves in the south single storey block and ground floor of the neighbouring two storey block to the north.