Cowick Hall

Cowick Hall is a country house, now offices, located off Snaith Road on the south side near East Cowick. It was built between 1660 and 1690 for Sir John Dawnay, first Viscount Downe, and has been substantially altered and extended over subsequent centuries.

The building underwent significant alterations between 1752 and 1760 by James Paine for Henry Pleydell Dawnay, the third Viscount. These works included internal remodelling, rebuilding of the south entrance, and re-setting of the roof balustrade. Further alterations in the 1790s and between 1804 and 1811, undertaken for John Dawnay, the 5th Viscount and Baron of Cowick, introduced a west staircase and internal remodelling by Joseph Bonomi, along with the addition of an external south gallery. Between 1869 and 1880, Henry and Benjamin Shaw directed internal remodelling, created new openings to the east and west sides, and altered the original flat roof to a double-span. Subsequent renovations and minor alterations were carried out in 1956 and later by Croda International PLC.

The building is constructed of magnesian limestone ashlar and brick. The north front displays ashlar, while the north pediment, south front, and east and west sides are rendered. The outer roof slopes are covered with Westmorland slates and the inner slopes with Welsh slates. External staircases feature wrought-iron balustrades.

The plan, largely dating from the 1870s remodelling, is double-pile with a cruciform hall-corridor forming a 4-room central entrance-hall arrangement served by north and south fronts, with staircases positioned to the sides.

The principal north front presents 2 storeys with basement and attic arranged in a 4:1:4 bay rhythm. A rusticated basement supports a giant order of Roman Ionic pilasters. The entrance is accessed by a perron with a flight of 11 stone steps, flanked by an outer wrought-iron balustrade of tapered octagonal column-on-vase balusters between square piers with 20th-century ball finials, and an inner stone balustrade with bulbous balusters and inner piers carrying cast-iron lamps. A tripartite Ionic porch contains a 2-fold 6-panel glazed door with blind side-panels in a pilastered surround with plain entablature and a central projecting columned porch with pediment, all beneath a blind elliptical arch of 1752–60 with impost band and archivolt. The side bays feature 6-pane basement sashes in reveals with keyed rusticated flat arches, and 12-pane ground-floor sashes in architraves with balustraded aprons, entablatures with pulvinated friezes, moulded cornices and hoods on consoles. Those to bays 2, 4, 6 and 8 are topped with segmental pediments. A moulded first-floor sill string course runs across the elevation. The 12-pane first-floor sashes sit in architraves, those to bays 2, 4, 6 and 8 with entablatures; the central window features an entablature, consoles and segmental pediment matching the ground floor. A deep eaves cornice is supported on pairs of large acanthus brackets above each pilaster. The pediment to the 3 central bays displays a giant carved and painted Dawnay achievement with quartered arms in a cartouche surmounted by a coronet, supported by lions rampant, with the motto TIMET PUDOREM below. An ashlar balustraded parapet crowns the composition. The hipped roof features 4 dormers containing 6-pane sashes in architraves with shouldered surrounds, moulded cornices and pediments. Pairs of rendered stacks with bands, dentilled cornices and blocking courses occur to the principal elevation and similar stacks to the side elevations.

The south front has a central bay that breaks forward, with pedestals to the basement supporting a giant order of Doric pilasters with flush ashlar bands at mid ground-floor level. The basement contains 6-pane sashes, and a chamfered ground-floor string course divides the storeys. A flight of 12 steps ascends to an external ashlar gallery serving the 3 central bays, supported on plain short Greek Doric columns and bordered by a wrought-iron balustrade of scrolled panels with thistle ornament, with cast-iron columned piers to the staircase bearing lamps. On the ground floor, central recessed 2-fold glazed doors are topped by a late 19th-century stained-glass overlight in an architrave with pediment on consoles. 12-pane sashes in architraves with sill string course and entablatures with pulvinated friezes and pediments to alternate bays flank the entrance; French windows occupy the fourth bay. The 12-pane first-floor sashes sit in architraves, the central window in an eared and shouldered architrave with scrolled acanthus consoles, cornice and hood. A similar eaves cornice to the north front caps the elevation. Five pedimented dormers with glazing bars and 4 similar stacks complete the composition.

The west elevation features similar giant Doric pilasters, a ground-floor string course, and a stone staircase with wrought-iron balustrade of scrolled panels with thistle ornament to a late 19th-century round-headed entrance at the third bay, flanked by round-arched side lights in architraves. A similar tripartite round-headed first-floor window with pilastered surround sits above. The second bay contains 12-pane ground- and first-floor sashes in ashlar architraves.

The east elevation has a pair of giant Doric pilasters to the right, a similar stone staircase with re-set wrought-iron balustrade to a late 19th-century twin round-headed entrance with side light, and twin round-headed first-floor sashes above.

The interior retains substantial decorative schemes from various periods. The 1870s entrance hall and corridor are fitted with Corinthian angle pilasters. The south hall and west corridor contain 2 good plaster relief tablets and 14 roundels with classical scenes, attributed to John Flaxman. A round-arched entrance to the south-west library (perhaps of original 17th or 18th-century date) has a panelled reveal, with a round-arched pilastered doorway serving the south-east room. A fine flying west staircase, re-set in the 1870s and attributed to Bonomi, displays a moulded ramped handrail and a wrought-iron lattice-work balustrade with scrolls, geometric panels and Greek key frieze, with later wrought-iron suspension bar to the landing bearing thistle ornament. A flying east staircase of the 1870s with turned balusters possibly incorporates late 17th-century re-used elements.

The south-west library was partly remodelled in the 19th century (probably by Bonomi) and contains fitted desks and bookcases with wrought-iron lattice grilles to doors. It incorporates 18th-century ornate carved skirting, dado rail, moulded panelled window reveals and doors in architraves, and moulded plaster cornices. Other 18th-century details include dentilled cornices to the north-west room, and carved skirting, dado rail and cornices (the latter now concealed by suspended ceiling) to the south-east room. The first floor retains carved window surrounds and cornices to the central north and west rooms, and carved skirting and dado rail to the east rooms. 19th-century cornices are found throughout the halls and other main rooms, those to the ground-floor central rooms being particularly ornate with foliate ceiling roses. Panelled window reveals and 6-panel doors occur throughout, with mahogany doors to main rooms set in re-used 18th-century moulded architraves, and re-set 18th-century doors with moulded panels elsewhere. The attic retains fragments of former servants' rooms with plain moulded cornices. The basement contains tunnel-vaulted chambers and a 4-bay quadripartite vault to the north-west with a cylindrical ashlar pier. Cellars to the north, beneath the north terrace, feature tunnel vaults and a 6-bay quadripartite vault on square brick piers.

The main fronts of Cowick Hall rank among the most accomplished 17th-century country house designs in the country.