Wharf House

Wharf House is a porter’s lodge, later converted into a house, dating from 1837. It was originally built for the Rochdale Canal Company. The building is constructed from coursed stone with a stone slate roof and follows a T-shaped plan. It has a single storey main block and a two-storey gabled cross-wing which projects slightly to the front and rear.

The west front features a 20th-century door within a chamfered surround; a window previously located to the right has been removed and the opening blocked. The cross-wing incorporates a canted bay window with a single chamfered light to each face, a cornice, blocking course and coping. Above the bay window sits a chamfered three-light mullioned window from which the mullions have been removed. The gable of the wing includes an arrow-slit-type recess. A truncated stack is located to the right end, with an external stack to the left. The wing displays shaped kneelers, ashlar coping, and a gable finial.

The rear of the wing has a lower and narrower bay with a chamfered window surround in the gable, and a finial to the gable of the front bay. The main range features a two-light window from which the mullion has also been removed, and it contains iron bars. The right return of the wing exhibits a chamfered doorway and window, also lacking mullions. The barred rear window dates from a period when the building was used as a Police Station, lighting a cell. The building was let to the West Riding Constabulary from 1863 to 1894.