Croxteth Hall

Croxteth Hall is a country house with a complex construction history, dating back to approximately 1575. The southern end of the east range was built around 1575, with the south range following in approximately 1702. Significant additions were made between 1874 and 1877, and further extensions occurred in 1902. The 1870s work is attributed to T. H. Wyatt, and the 1902 additions to J. McVicar Anderson.

The house is constructed of brick with stone dressings. The south facade, the most prominent, is two storeys high with a terrace above an extended basement and comprises 11 bays, with a three-bay central section projecting forward. The returns are three bays each. It features rusticated quoins, a cornice, and a parapet with stone pilasters supporting urns. The basement has a pilastered parapet with urns and alternate round and bull’s-eye windows with torus surrounds. Windows are sashed with glazing bars; ground floor windows are distinguished by pulvinated friezes and alternate triangular and segmental pediments. The central entrance is framed by a Corinthian aedicule with paired columns and a broken segmental pediment displaying a foliated frieze, the Molyneux arms, and flags. The entrance itself has bolection moulding and a decorated keystone, with a panel above featuring trophies. Steps lead to the entrance.

The west facade, of three storeys and 16 bays, exhibits a similar style, with the first six bays projecting forward, incorporating a two-story canted bay. The remaining bays have a recessed second floor between three-bay pavilions. A porch with a distyle-in-antis Tuscan colonnade and a central segmental pediment provides access.

The north facade is two storeys high with an extended basement and 7 bays, showcasing varied fenestration with mullions and transoms. The 3rd, 6th, and 7th bays project under gables, while others have half-dormers. A Tudor-arched entrance and a gable-end chimney breast are located to the left. The east facade features a central entrance tower with diagonal buttresses, a Tudor-arched entrance, and a side entrance with an oriel above. Three bays mirror the north facade, while five bays to the left, of two storeys with an attic, have projecting gables and dormers. The first floor has cross windows, the second floor features 6-light windows, and the ground floor incorporates a kitchen extension. The first three bays echo the west facade.

The interior includes a Corinthian tetrastyle screen in the entrance hall. The stair hall, added in 1902, has a coved ceiling with a roof light and round arches leading to first-floor passages. A significant fire in 1952 destroyed much of the interior.