Walls, Gatepiers, Railings And Gates To Sledmere House Extending From South-Westernmost End To Stables

The walls, gate piers, railings, and gates at Sledmere House date back to around 1700, with some elements brought from Venice in the 19th century. The gates were designed in 1813 by Watson and Pritchett of York for Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, 3rd Baronet. The late 18th-century walls were built for Sir Christopher Sykes, 2nd Baronet, with later additions and alterations made in the early to mid-20th century for Sir Richard Sykes, 7th Baronet.

The walls are constructed of pinkish-red brick in English garden wall bond, featuring ashlar and moulded tile copings. The wrought-iron gates stand 2.5 meters high. Starting from the south-west, there is a square end pier with peaked ashlar coping. A wall with tile copings extends approximately 25 meters to a 20th-century west entrance, which has square end piers topped with artificial stone sphinxes and ramped, ashlar-coped walls that curve to an ornamental pier with draped urns. Between these features are double gates and railings with four levels of rails, lance finials, and curvy dogbars.

The gates are flanked by ornamental wrought-iron piers topped with tritons and feature arched braces. The wall continues for about 45 meters to the entrance of St Mary's Churchyard, where there are similar double gates with an inserted pedestrian gate between ornamental wrought-iron piers surmounted by tritons. The wall extends for approximately 35 meters to another similar pier, forming the north wall of a square walled paddock. From this pier, the wall returns to the entrance of the stableyard, where the gate piers are square in plan, rebuilt but topped with similar wrought-iron tritons. The ornamental double gates feature a scroll and ribbon motif on the lower part, with bars adorned with scrolls on the sides and an ornamental overthrow. This section of the wall abuts the rear of the stables and carriage house.