Thundercliffe Grange

Thundercliffe Grange is a country house, built between 1776 and 1785 by John Platt for the 3rd Earl of Effingham. Later additions and alterations have been made, and it is now divided into flats; it was formerly a hospital. The house is constructed of ashlar sandstone with a Welsh slate roof. It is two storeys high with an attic, and has a 7-bay by 6-bay layout, with a lower, two-storey service wing attached to the right return, set around a quadrangle.

The front of the house has a 2-bay:3-bay:2-bay arrangement, with the central three bays projecting forward and topped with a pediment. A plinth runs along the base. A later, enclosed porch features double doors flanked by paired pilasters, with carved arms beneath the entablature. The ground-floor windows are sash windows with glazing bars and projecting sills, topped with cornices. The first-floor windows are similar, but without the cornices. Above the first floor is a cornice that rises to form a pediment, containing an oeil-de-boeuf (circular window) in the tympanum. A blocking course forms a plinth for pilasters clasping the angles and paired flanking central bays, positioned above the attic. Six-pane sashes are present, with two inserted casements above the pediment. The roof is hipped, with rendered ridge stacks—two to the front ridge, two to the left ridge, and an elongated end stack to the right. The service wing to the right has renewed casements with projecting sills and lintels that resemble voussoirs.

The rear of the house features a tripartite porch with a pediment. The outer bays are bowed and contain single, tripartite windows to both the ground and first floors (the ground-floor window on the left side has been converted into a door). A similar window above the porch has sill blocks and a central feature beneath a slight cornice, flanked by sashes with glazing bars. The cornice has a central broken pediment. The attic has six-pane sashes to the central and outer bays, with inserted casements flanking the central bay. The service wing to the left has been altered and now has a cement rendering.

The left return of the main house has an enlarged doorway in the fourth bay, with a fire escape to its left. The attic storey has paired pilasters flanking bays 2 and 5. The interior includes an entrance hall with two semi-domed niches and a contemporary side-wall fireplace. The inner entrance hall has a roof lantern and a cantilevered staircase with a cast-iron balustrade; a round-arched arcade leads to the landing. The dining room on the front right has plaster wall panels and a marble fireplace in a wood surround. A room to the rear right is divided by Tuscan-pillared features.

Thundercliffe Grange became the home of the Effingham family after they moved from Holmes Hall, near the developing ironworks of Masbrough. John Platt’s journal records several visits to the Grange, including a dinner with Lord Effingham on 25th October 1783, which is likely the date of completion for the house.