The Castle

The Castle is a house built around 1790, likely with earlier origins, and features later additions and alterations. It was designed by John Carr for Sir Christopher Sykes, 2nd Baronet. The building is constructed from pinkish-brown brick in English garden wall bond, with magnesian limestone and ashlar dressings, topped with a Welsh slate and asphalt roof. It is designed in the Gothick style.

The structure has a recessed two-storey central bay flanked by three-storey octagonal towers and two-storey wings, with additional ranges at the rear. The plinth has moulded ashlar copings, and the central entrance features a tall pointed arch with a cavetto-moulded hood and label stops, flanked by round-headed niches. Inside, there is a double board door with an ashlar lintel and a Gothick overlight with decorative glazing beneath a pointed arch with a cavetto-moulded hood.

The building includes a modillion ashlar cornice and battlements. The ground floor has two-traceried-light windows within pointed surrounds under cavetto-moulded hoods, while the first floor features three-rounded-light, straight-headed windows in double-chamfered surrounds under similar hoods with label stops. An ashlar band runs along the structure, and the second floor has windows similar to those on the ground floor.

The outer bays mirror the central design, with ground floors having two-traceried-light, pointed-headed windows under cavetto-moulded hoods and single round lights on the first floor. The interior retains some original fireplaces and six-fielded-panel doors. The Castle was built as an eye-catcher to Sledmere House.