Poppleton House

Poppleton House is a large detached house dating from around 1780, with alterations made in the early 19th century and again around 1900. It is constructed of red brick with ashlar dressings, now painted. The main house has hipped slate roofs and brick stacks, while a service wing features a pantile roof. Rusticated quoins are present, along with a plinth and moulded ashlar bands at ground and first floor levels.

The main, south-east facing facade is three stories with four windows, and has a two-story addition with two windows to the right. An off-centre doorway on the right has a six-panel door with a fanlight in a round-headed opening framed by a wooden surround with brackets supporting a flat hood. There are two margin-light sashes to the left and a single sash to the right, all within similar wooden frames with brackets supporting flat hoods. Above are four slightly smaller margin-light sashes, and above those again, four smaller similar sashes. The addition to the right has two glazing bar sashes in moulded wooden surrounds. A single-story service wing, set back to the left, features a large glazing bar sash in a moulded wooden surround.

The north-west, garden facade is also three stories with four windows. A doorway on the left has a panel door and overlight, with a small window to the left and two large glazing bar sashes to the right. The first floor has glazing bar sashes at either end, with a tall round-headed staircase window between, and a small sliding sash with glazing bars. Above is a further three sliding sashes with glazing bars. A two-story wing to the left has a panel door with overlight, and above, a large glazing bar sash. To the left of this is the scar of a former window. A slightly projecting single-story service wing to the right has a large glazing bar sash window, a smaller plain sash, and then a plank door. Beyond this is a lower block with a single casement and a panel door.

The interior retains a wooden staircase; the lowest flight is Edwardian, featuring two square newels per tread, while the upper sections are early 19th century and incorporate re-used 18th century turned balusters. A plain early 19th century service staircase has stick balusters and square newels. Six-panel doors are found throughout, within moulded frames. Most rooms have early 19th century fireplaces with grey marble in the main reception rooms, along with skirting boards and coving. Around 1900, a dividing wall was removed on the upper floors, and a new timber and plaster wall now crosses the windows on the main front.

Historically, the house was purchased by John Dodsworth in the early 19th century and used as a school. By 1860 it had become the home of the Poppleton Academy, and in 1915, it operated as a maternity hospital specialising in "childbirth without pain."