Ravensknowle Hall

Ravensknowle Hall is a large house built between 1859 and 1862. It was designed by Richard Tress of London. The house is constructed of ashlar and has a hipped slate roof. It is two storeys and has attics. A deeply projecting cornice is supported by double scrolled consoles, with attic windows set between them. There is a string course below the consoles and a moulded cornice at the sill level of the first floor, with sills projecting on tapering brackets and another string course below the brackets. The ground floor is horizontally rusticated, and the corners of the building project slightly. The first-floor windows are round-arched, with plain raised frames, foliage capitals at impost level and ornament at the apexes; one to the right of the entrance is tripartite, and one to the left is single. The ground-floor windows have moulded embrasures, with the three to the right being oblong and the one to the left Venetian.

A central two-storey loggia features a Doric colonnade on the ground floor, with a round-arched doorway (containing panelled doors and a fanlight) and two round-arched windows behind. The first floor of the loggia has an arcade with foliate capitals, oculi, and foliage ornament above, with three round-arched windows behind. Other elevations have similar detailing. On the east side, there are four windows on the first floor, while the ground floor has one Venetian window and a semi-circular bay with arched French windows; foliage is carved into the spandrels, capitals, and panels at the base of the columns. The rear elevation has a recessed centre with a large round-arched staircase window with turned mullions. This window previously led into an enormous conservatory, which has since been replaced by a single-storey modern extension. Side bays at the rear have one window range each, with ground-floor windows that are round-arched and have projecting moulded frames on elaborately carved corbels.

A two-storey extension on the west side has simpler detailing; windows to the front have concave moulding, are round-arched on the first floor, and are segment-headed with keystones on the ground floor. At the rear, the first-floor windows are unmoulded, while the ground-floor ones have moulded frames with cornices. The chimneys are distinctive; two in the main block have two arches with a foliage band at impost level and cornicing at the top. One chimney in the extension has a foliage band at cornice level. Steps lead to the front door, flanked by dwarf walls with elaborate cast iron torcheres. Cast iron railings are present to the ground-floor loggia.

The interiors are very impressive, showcasing fine foliage moulding in stucco throughout. Features include a circular vaulted porch and a galleried hall with a staircase rising behind a triple arcade. There are good cast iron balustrades to the staircase and gallery, a coved ceiling, and a top-lit room with a marble chimneypiece.