Elsham Hall

Elsham Hall

A small country house with 17th-century or earlier origins, substantially altered and extended over subsequent centuries. The house underwent significant remodelling in 1933 by architect Guy Elwes for Geoffrey Elwes, which transformed much of its appearance.

The building is constructed from limestone ashlar on the earlier sections of the south front, rendered ashlar with limestone dressings to the east front, and rendered brick to the remaining sections. The roofs are Westmorland slate. The plan is approximately square, organised around a central east-west section containing the entrance hall to the south and stairs and chapel to the rear, flanked by wings that form the east and west fronts, each with central entrances.

The East Front is the principal elevation, presenting three storeys arranged in a 3:1:3 bay composition with a central pedimented bay breaking forward. An ashlar plinth runs the length of the front. The central bay features a rusticated ground floor and rusticated quoins above. The entrance consists of three stone steps leading to a tall round-headed doorway set within a deep internal porch featuring a rusticated tunnel vault, large two-leaf panelled outer doors and glazed inner doors beneath an ornate fanlight. Single large brass hitching rings flank the entrance. To the right of the entrance are 12-pane recessed sashes with channelled and keyed flat arches, projecting sills and raised panels below; blind windows mirror this arrangement to the left. The first floor contains a Venetian window in the central bay, complete with ashlar pilasters and a central rusticated round arch flanked by moulded cornices; the ornate glazing to the central light dates from the 1933 alterations. 12-pane sashes to the right and a single sash with two blind windows to the left sit beneath channelled and keyed flat arches, with a raised first-floor band running across. The second floor has a small central window with a reeded ashlar frieze and moulded cornice above, and a second-floor band to the side bays carrying 6-pane sashes with a single blind window to the centre left. A dentilled ashlar cornice tops the front, with a central pediment flanked by a blocking course featuring central raised coped sections to the side bays.

The South Garden Front forms the left return, presenting a two-storey, three-bay central section flanked by projecting three-storey single-bay wings with two-storey canted bays breaking forward. An ashlar plinth and a flight of four steps with a wrought-iron balustrade lead to a central glazed two-leaf door with an ornate 1933 overlight set in an ovolo ashlar architrave. Full-length 12-pane sashes in architraves occupy the side bays. A raised first-floor band runs across the central section, beneath which sit 12-pane sashes in architraves. A reeded ashlar frieze and cornice run the length of the front, with blocking course details to the central section and canted bays. The second floors of the wings—the right wing being a late 18th-century addition altered in 1933—carry central eight-pane sashes flanked by pilasters and six-pane sashes beneath a moulded cornice and pediment with a stepped-up blocking course. Double-span swept roofs cover the central section, with hipped roofs to the wings. Lateral chimneys stacks are positioned to the wings.

The late 18th-century additions comprise the east front and a canted bay to the south front, likely carried out for the Thompson or Corbett family. The house was extended further to the north and west during the 19th century. The 1933 alterations by Guy Elwes include the west front, a canted bay to the south front, rendering and a doorway to the east front, a Catholic chapel to the north side, and extensive interior remodelling. A substantial 19th-century north service range was largely demolished during the 20th century.

Interior features include a section of late 18th-century geometric stone staircase rising to the second floor, with a scrolled wrought-iron balustrade, moulded handrail and a moulded plasterwork dome decorated with a foliate centrepiece, garlands and relief panels. A first-floor bedroom off the east front retains a dentilled cornice and a chimneypiece with composition ornament. Beaded-panel window shutters and doors set in architraves are found throughout the interior.