Coleby Hall

Coleby Hall is a house of mid-17th century or earlier origins, substantially developed in the later 17th century with major additions continuing through to the 20th century. The building has a complex history of expansion and modification that is clearly legible in its plan and exterior fabric.

The structure is built of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins to the main stair turret and kitchen extension. Stacks and sections of walling employ red brick, with brick surrounds to doors in the left range. The front wing and section to the right are rough-rendered. The plan is irregular: four rooms wide by one room deep, with a projecting single-room front wing (perhaps originally a porch) to the left of centre, two projecting rear stair turrets, and rear outshuts. The components date sequentially: mid-17th century or earlier origins; a later 17th century front wing; a circa 1720 section to the right incorporating the main stairs; later 18th-century extensions; an 18th to 19th-century kitchen extension to the left; later 19th-century rear outshuts; and a circa 1980 rear porch.

The south front presents two storeys with a lower two-storey section to the left. The main range has six first-floor windows including the wing, and one window to the lower left section. The main entrance sits to the right of centre, comprising a recessed part-glazed panelled door beneath a three-pane overlight in a wooden architrave. Two 20th-century unequal sashes with glazing bars in flush wooden surrounds are positioned to the right, with one similar original sash to the left. Four 12-pane flush sashes are set above. The wing has single 20th-century 12-pane sashes to each floor. The section to the left has two 19th to 20th-century plank doors in segmental-headed brick surrounds; the right door has a 10-pane overlight. A painted ashlar ovolo-mullioned cross window is positioned to the left. The first floor features 12-pane flush sashes to the main range on the right and a two-light casement with glazing bars in the lower section to the left. A coved ashlar ovolo-moulded eaves cornice runs along the right; a cogged brick eaves cornice is applied to the wing and section to the left. The roof is hipped to the right end of the main range and front of the wing.

Chimneys include a massive stack between the main range and lower left section, an end stack to the latter, two 17th-century lateral stacks to the rear of the main range, and a 19th-century lateral stack to the left return of the front wing.

The right return forms the east front facing the road. This features a full-height canted bay with an ashlar plinth, 12-pane sashes, projecting cills, and a coved ashlar eaves cornice.

Interior features are substantial and well-preserved. The entrance hall to the right contains a corner fireplace with a moulded stone surround and fielded overmantel panel with bolection moulding flanked by fluted pilasters. A coved niche with shell ornament sits in a moulded surround, with a moulded coved ceiling cornice, fielded panel doors, window shutters, reveals, and a dado with moulded dado rail.

The adjoining stairhall to the rear contains a circa 1720 open-well staircase with three column-on-vase balusters with square knops to each tread, the central one fluted, and a ramped and wreathed handrail. A cross-mullioned stair window in an architrave sits above a fielded panel in bolection moulding, with a deeply coved moulded ceiling cornice. An early 18th-century open-well back stairs accessed through a door bearing 17th-century cock's head hinges features column-on-vase balusters and a moulded string.

The ground-floor drawing room to the right has a dentilled plaster cornice and panelled shutters to bay windows. The room in the front wing has a moulded ceiling with coved cornice. The present kitchen has a high beamed ceiling and a wide elliptically-arched chamfered ashlar fireplace. An adjoining former kitchen has a beamed ceiling and wide elliptically-arched brick fireplace with keystone. An elliptically-arched brick cellar features a two-light ashlar window with ovolo mullion.

The first-floor bedroom to the right has 18th-century fielded panelling with moulded dado rail, a moulded stone chimneypiece with cast-iron duck's nest grate, a panelled overmantel with bolection moulding, a moulded ceiling cornice, and fielded panel doors and window shutters. The adjoining room over the entrance hall has a moulded stone chimneypiece and late 17th-century oak panelling (largely painted over) with fluted frieze and overmantel, and a moulded ceiling cornice. A first-floor room to the left, now subdivided, has a deeply coved plaster ceiling cornice.