Rawcliffe Hall

Rawcliffe Hall is a house, likely incorporating remains from the late 16th century with substantial alterations in the 17th century. It is now used as a caravan clubhouse and has a courtyard plan. The construction is primarily brick with some timber framing, and the roof is slate. The building is composed of a south range, a west wing adjoining the north side of the south range, a further wing extending northwards, and an east wing connecting to the south range at its corner.

The main south front has a two-story gabled porch with a modern ground-floor addition to its left. To the left of the porch is a blank bay on the ground floor, and to the right are two bays, the latter with a ground-floor entrance door. Chimneys are located on the right-hand gable and between the second and third bays to the left of the porch. The gables feature copings with kneelers. The west gable of this wing has two bays with modern oriels on the first floor.

Adjoining this wing to the north, the west facade includes an embattled canted section with windows on its outer sides. A central two-bay section has two adjoining ground-floor doorways with pointed heads on the right-hand side, and a projecting stack to the left. A timber bay window with leaded stained glass is found in the northernmost section of the west facade; the lower lights are paired under ogee heads. The first floor has windows with timber mullions and stained glass. The east wing, possibly dating to the 18th century, has undergone alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries and lacks external architectural interest, though it may contain older features.

Inside, a northern room on the west side features a moulded, shouldered stone fireplace of around 1700, with a moulded cornice and carved arms on the lintel. The south range includes an early 18th-century staircase, possibly not in its original location, with five steps at the bottom, followed by a straight flight at a right angle. The staircase has an open string, a moulded handrail, and turned balusters – two to each tread, one fluted. An internal courtyard on the north side of the south range is now covered by a glass roof at first-floor level. Above the roof on the south side is a timber-framed wall with a continuously glazed row of wooden mullioned windows separated by a transom. Below this are rows of square-framed panels with decorative quatrefoil bracing. A coving runs under the eaves. The building’s development is complex and warrants further investigation, as earlier features may be concealed by later alterations.