Gledholt

Gledholt is a house of mediaeval origin, with substantial visible elements dating to around 1720, and altered in the late 18th century or early 19th century, the mid-19th century, and again in 1923. The house is rendered, with a hipped roof covered in stone slates. It has an L-shaped plan.

The entrance front features a ground floor of the south block and both floors of the west block, seemingly dating to around 1720. To the east of the south block is an extension featuring three ranges of sash windows with glazing bars. The ground floor of the south block, from left to right, has one four-light stone mullioned window within a double-stepped surround, the mullions being chamfered and with close-set glazing bars; an ashlar doorframe with a four-centred chamfered arch bearing the inscription "I W E 1720" (for John and Ellen Wilkinson); one two-light stone mullioned sash with a chamfered surround; and a further four-light stone mullioned window in a double-stepped surround with chamfered mullions and close-set glazing bars. A string course runs above. The first floor has one round-arched stair window with glazing bars, one sash with glazing bars, one single sash, and a tripartite stone mullioned sash with glazing bars. A porch was added around 1920. The west block has five two-light stone mullioned casements with glazing bars on the first floor. On the ground floor, there is a door with a stone mullioned fanlight including glazing bars, followed by two mullioned and transomed windows with glazing bars, then a two-plus-two light stone mullioned window, and finally a door with six sunk panels. A mid-19th century ashlar stack is found, with an arched centre, a cornice, and a coped top.

An extension to the north of the west block is constructed from hammer-dressed stone and probably dates to the later 18th century, featuring a band. It includes three ranges of sash windows with glazing bars (the ground floor window in the left-hand range being bipartite); with the central bay projecting forward and topped by a pediment containing an oculus in a plain raised frame. A door with six sunk panels is also present.

The garden front was regularised in the late 18th century or early 19th century and is built of ashlar, with a moulded eaves cornice and a blocking course. It features eight ranges of sash windows with glazing bars in plain raised surrounds; the central first-floor sash having a moulded surround. A door beneath has a frame with Tuscan half columns and a segmental pediment. A ground floor door at the south end has six panels, four of which are fielded. A fretwork verandah is also present.

The interior includes a dining room with 17th-century oak panelling and a late 18th-century iron and brass grate incorporating blue and white Delft tiles. Very large chamfered beams are also found. Most of the other interior spaces date from the 1923 alterations, undertaken by Messsrs Libertys.

Historically, the house was held by the Gledholts from the 13th century until the 16th century, when it passed to the Hirsts. In 1686, the Hirsts sold it to Matthew Wilkinson of Greenhead Hall. His son, John Wilkinson, married Ellen Townley, daughter of John Townley of Newhouse Hall, and they are likely responsible for much of the house’s rebuilding. From 1852 to 1868, it was occupied by T P Crosland, MP for Huddersfield (1865-8).