Manor Court House

SE 7803-7903 20/83 27.9.51

EPWORTH MARKET PLACE (west side)

Manor Court House

GV II

Court House, now offices and library. 1802-3 for Alexander Johnson, Lord of the Manor. Later C19 rear addition and infilling to ground-floor arcade. Red brick, with front of fine red stock brick in Flemish bond with ashlar dressings; infilling of red brick with yellow brick and ashlar dressings. Rendered plinth to front. Welsh slate roof. Rectangular on plan, with later coach-house outshut to rear. 2 storeys, 5 bays. Chamfered plinth. Ground-floor arcade of 5 painted ashlar keyed and channelled elliptical arches on brick pilasters with moulded ashlar bases and raised imposts. Round-headed entrance to fourth bay has step to 2-fold 8-fielded-panel door and 3-pane fanlight beneath occulus, in round-headed recessed panel with 3-course yellow brick header arch. Flanking arches each have inserted recessed panels containing tripartite windows with stepped round-headed lights with glazing bars, raised ashlar imposts, and yellow brick header arches. Rectangular clock face above entrance inscribed: EMI 1837. 19 82 First floor: slightly recessed 12-pane sashes in architraves, with narrow glazing bars and projecting sills beneath keyed and rusticated cambered wedge lintels. Moulded eaves cornice. Inappropriate C20 gutter. Hipped roof. 3 rear wall stacks. Right return has segmental-headed recessed panel to ground floor. Rear: 12-pane sash stairwindow to first floor left; coach- house outshut has segmental-headed carriage entrance with double board doors, segmental-headed window (boarded-up at time of resurvey) and round- headed door to left. Interior. Entrance hall has original open-well closed-string staircase with moulded handrail, column balusters and newel posts. Moulded cornices, 4-panelled doors in architraves throughout. The Court House has been used by The Epworth Mechanics Institute since 1837, and houses their library in the hall on the first floor. The rear outshut formerly housed the town's fire engine. An illustration of c1858 shows the open ground-floor arcade with plain iron railings. W Read, History of the Isle of Axholme, 1858, p 130.

Listing NGR: SE7830103788