The Howroyde

The Howroyde is a large house dated 1642 and built for William Horton, with significant alterations in the 18th century. Constructed of hammer-dressed stone with ashlar dressings and a stone slate roof, it is a double-pile building arranged around a hall and cross-wings with a through-passage. The cross-wings have projecting facades and quoins. The west wing has a single bay of sash windows, while the east wing has two bays. These windows retain their original 16-paned glazing. The through-passage features doorways at either end, the front doorway having a Tudor arched lintel with a richly moulded jamb. The jamb incorporates broach stops with fluted columns, Ionic capitals to the front, and Doric capitals to the rear, supporting a full entablature. An inscription above the front door reads: "Except the Lord build this house They Labour in vain that build." The rear door has a lintel inscribed "WR1642 EH" (for William & Elizabeth Horton). The hall is two stories high and has an ashlar parapet above a large, double-chamfered mullioned and transomed window with two king mullions of 18 lights. A hood mould with decorated stops sits above this window. Two-light windows are located on the first floor, one above a doorway that leads to a porch chamber, and the other to light a gallery. A lateral extruded stack and four sash windows are visible on the right-hand return wall, the ground floor windows being former cross-windows retaining their double-chamfered surrounds; two sash windows are at the first floor. There are eight stacks in total, one backing onto the through-passage.

Inside, two doorways with shaped lintels lead into the service areas from the through-passage. The hall contains a tall Tudor arched fireplace with Ionic columns surmounted by a plasterwork Royal Coat of Arms, dated 1642, with a griffin frieze. An elaborate central plasterwork feature decorates the ceiling. A contemporary gallery with turned balusters and a carved frieze encircles the hall on two sides. The hall window retains several stained glass panels, some dated 1641, illustrating the five senses. The parlour wing features three oak-panelled rooms with carved friezes of differing designs. The central room has raised and fielded panels typical of the 18th century. Another panelled room is located on the first floor. The rear dining room has a mid-18th century stone fireplace with an architrave, pulvinated frieze, and dentil cornice. The Howroyde is a gentry house retaining high-quality fittings and features a late 17th-century open hall, making it one of the finest houses in Calderdale.