Bowcliffe Hall And Attached Screen Walls

Bowcliffe Hall is a mansion, now used as offices, built around 1805 for William Robinson and completed circa 1825 for John Smyth, with later alterations and enlargements for the Lane Fox family. Constructed of magnesian limestone ashlar with a slate roof, the building follows a long, rectangular double-pile plan. It is two and three storeys high with a 15-bay length and 3 bays in width, designed in a classical style with a symmetrical tripartite composition. The central block features a slightly projecting three-bay section topped with a pediment; a Tuscan porch shelters a panelled door with a semicircular fanlight, and the window above the porch has an Ionic architrave, an apron with a blind balustrade, and a segmental pediment that breaks through the modillioned cornice. Sillbands run along both floors, and there are 12-pane sash windows, a modillioned cornice, and low parapets to the outer bays.

The wings are slightly set back, each with a slightly projecting three-bay centre. The centre of each wing contains a coved niche with a statue at ground floor and an oculus above. The ground floor has a sillband and four 12-pane sashes, while the first floor has four square 6-pane sashes. A moulded cornice and low parapet top the wings, with the right wing featuring an urn on its parapet, and a stepped-up parapet over its projecting centre. A matching two-storey addition was made to the left wing in a similar style, incorporating 12-pane sashes. The roofs are low-pitched and hipped with ridge chimneys.

Attached to the outer end of each wing are quadrant screen walls with doorways. The return walls and rear elevation are in a similar style.

The interior contains an entrance hall and an imperial staircase with an Ionic screen at ground floor and a Corinthian screen at first floor.

Historically, William Robinson, a Manchester cotton spinner, began construction but became bankrupt, leaving the right (west) wing unfinished. John Smyth completed the building. In the 19th century, the Lane Fox family purchased and enlarged the Hall as a residence during the dereliction and repair of nearby Bramham Park. In the 20th century, it was the home of Robert Blackburn, founder of Blackburn Aircraft Company.