Cannon Hall

Cannon Hall is a large country house, now a museum, located off Cawthorne Bark House Lane, Cawthorne. The core of the building likely dates to the late 17th century, but it was significantly remodelled between 1764 and 1780. The 18th-century work was commissioned by John Spencer and carried out by architect John Carr, with John Marsden acting as mason. Further interior alterations occurred in 1778, also by John Carr, which included stucco work to the hall and dining room and the installation of columns in the hall. In 1804, the side wings were heightened to two storeys, again under the direction of John Carr. A ballroom was added to the north-east wing in 1890, designed by Sir Walter Spencer Stanhope, with the panelling and gallery work completed by 1896. The house was restored in 1965.

The house is constructed of coursed dress sandstone with ashlar dressings. It has a symmetrical design composed of a central three-storey block of five bays and two-storey side wings, slightly set back, each with three bays. Rusticated quoins are present. Sash windows are set within architrave surrounds; the ground floor and second-floor windows of the central block have a pulvinated frieze and moulded cornice. Console brackets support the cornice above the central window, which was once a doorway. Ground-floor windows in the central block extend to the ground and have been altered, now featuring sashes of 6 over 9 panes. Other sashes are mainly 12-pane, with those on the second floor having six panes, and those on the first floor of the wings being 3 over 6 panes. A moulded eaves cornice is topped by a balustraded parapet. Low, simple ashlar stacks are set well back. The rear elevation features a central, glazed Doric portico. The north-east wing projects to the left and comprises four bays. The side elevations of the main house are of three bays.

Inside, the hall has Doric columns at the rear, flanked by pilasters, and a good dog-leg staircase at the rear, typical of the "York School." The dining room contains an exceptional plaster ceiling from 1767, created by James Henderson of York. The ceiling features a central rose, flowing foliage, and musical instruments. The fireplace, also from 1767, is constructed from white and ochre marble, with Ionic columns, a full entablature, and a central relief carving. A room to the left contains an elaborate fireplace from York, dating to 1767, and includes a 17th-century Dutch picture depicting “Still Life with Dead Game” in the overmantel.

Cannon Hall was owned by the Spencer and Spencer Stanhope families from the late 17th century and was purchased by the County Borough of Barnsley in 1951. It was subsequently opened as a museum in 1957.