Brockwell House And Brockwell Cottage

Brockwell House and Brockwell Cottage are a pair of dwellings, originally a mill owner's house, situated in Sowerby Bridge. The main block of the house dates from around 1800, although it bears the inscription "WM 1766," likely referencing William Moor. A three-storey wing with a basement is set back to the left. The main block is constructed of coursed squared stone with a stone slate roof, and features a plinth, raised quoins, and cill bands. The central entrance has a two-panel door, the upper panel glazed with an elaborate pattern of glazing bars, matching overlight, and an architrave with a pulvinated frieze and cornice. A plaque above the door reads "WM 1766.” A sash window with glazing bars is positioned above the door, while the outer bays have two-story bows with tripartite windows; the ground floor windows have curved sashes, and those above have curved sashes with glazing bars, the central sashes being 16-pane. All windows have plain stone surrounds. A dentil-moulded cornice runs along the top of the building, and there are corniced end stacks.

The wing has quoins on its left side. In front of the basement area are railings with waved and spiked bars and urn-finialed standards. Each floor of the wing has a tripartite window with sashes having glazing bars to the ground and first floors, and shorter, nine-pane, unequally-hung sashes to the basement and second floor. A moulded cornice tops the wing, and it has an end stack to the left. The wing's roof is hipped on the left side.

At the rear of the main block, a central doorway is blocked, with tie-stone jambs; above it is a 20th-century arched stair window. A large 16-pane sash window in a plain stone surround is situated to the right, with a similar opening above. The wing projects to the rear (Brockwell Cottage) and has quoins separating the earlier and added bays. The earlier bay features a wide, four-panel door, a transomed stair window above, and a stack at the right end. The left return of the wing has a three-light transomed window to the ground floor, a three-light window above, and a two-light window to the second floor. The right return has three ground-floor windows (the leftmost formerly a door) set on niches with raised panels; a keyed, arched, gable window is also present.

The interior of the main block features front rooms with fireplaces having festoon and urn-decorated surrounds. A cantilevered, dog-leg stair has slender turned balusters and a ramped handrail. Two roof trusses of queen post construction, with collars supporting king posts and other vertical and diagonal members—comparable to those in the Wet Dock (c.1775) and Sowerby Bridge Canal Basin—are present. Large scantling, uneven purlins are likely reused. In the wing, the stone-flagged wash kitchen has piers supporting round-arched arcades. The full-height, 18th-century dog-leg, open-string stair has plain and wavy balusters and turned, gun-barrel newels.