Skelton Manor

A house of mid-16th-century origins with major alterations undertaken in the early to mid-18th century and late 19th century. Built for Edward Besley, the Roman Catholic Member of Parliament for York, and his wife Bridget Nelson. The structure originated as vestigial timber framing, subsequently cased in brick, with a plain tile roof. The original form was probably a hall with two cross wings to the rear, now reconfigured as a hallway entry with wings breaking forward slightly.

The exterior presents two storeys with six first-floor windows. The late 19th-century windows feature mullion and transom divisions. A 19th-century gabled porch with a battened door stands to the left of the central section, with a large six-light transomed window to the right. The left wing contains a five-light window, while the right wing has a six-light canted bay window. First-floor windows comprise two-light fixed windows to the central section and left wing, and a four-light fixed window to the right wing. Both wings have hipped roofs. A ridge stack and right end stack complete the external features.

The interior is exceptionally well preserved and has been restored with very great care. Surviving timber posts in the kitchen, near the back stairs, by the cellar door, and at the west end of the main staircase probably mark the original back wall. Studding in the rear passage and a truss at the top of the back stairs supporting a wall plate running northward provide evidence for the original cross wings to the rear. The post in the kitchen is marked with the Roman numeral IIII. The north wall of the kitchen contains a fine chamfered and stopped bressumer.

The entrance hall is panelled in oak, dating to the 17th century, with a plaster acanthus frieze above. A niche in the north wall is a 20th-century insertion but designed in character. The overmantel is elaborately carved with arches within the panels and may not be original to this position. Both the cupboard door and the door to the back stairs feature cock's head hinges.

To the left of the hall, the dining room displays a fine frieze of pomegranates, roses, carnations and grapes decorating the cross beam. The walls retain 17th-century panelling with a frieze. The fireplace, which may be 16th-century in origin, incorporates some Victorian work. To the right of the hall, the sitting room is panelled in light oak.

The closed string main staircase features vine-scroll strings and elaborately carved newels and mirror balusters. Comparison with the staircase at Sheriff Hutton Park suggests that it may have been crafted by Thomas Ventris of York.

On the first floor, the chamber over the hall is panelled throughout with a carved and arcaded frieze comparable to that at 58 Stonegate, York, dating to the early 17th century. The style of the caryatids and atlantes, which stand on classical bases and bear blank shields separating each round-arched panel, supports this dating. Full-height figures flank the fireplace: one a caryatid holding a quill and a bird, the other an atlantis holding a harp. The north-south ceiling beam carries a plaster frieze of pomegranates, the emblem of Katherine of Aragon, suggesting a mid to late 16th-century date for this feature. The doorway from the landing into this room dates to the late 16th century and retains two wooden 15th-century bosses attached. The cupboard by this door carries 17th-century arabesques, though butterfly hinges suggest re-use in the 18th century.

The small sitting room to the left of the landing contains a plaster frieze of mermaids and mermen with shields, dating to the late 16th century. This frieze has been interrupted by the insertion of the 17th-century staircase. Mermaids were the symbol of Mary, Queen of Scots, which may signify a reference to Catholicism. The panelling in the west bedroom is 17th-century and painted white, though probably not original to this room. The east bedroom features light oak panelling. In the north wall of the north bedroom, a post and wall plate are visible, providing further evidence for a rear cross wing to the original timber-framed structure.