Frieston'S Hospital

The building is a former almshouse, now a dwelling, dating to approximately 1595. It is constructed of large, well-coursed gritstone with a stone slate roof. The building is unusual in its square plan, featuring a large rectangular central hall lit by gabled dormers rising from the roof on three sides, and low, single-story aisles on three sides, covered by sweeping lean-to roofs.

The south front has a slightly off-centre doorway with composite jambs and a chamfered surround, flanked by two bays of 2-light, double-chamfered mullioned windows. A chamfered eaves band runs along the building. A small coped gable surmounted by a finial is set back at the second-story level, housing a 4-light, double-chamfered mullioned-and-transomed window. The rear elevation features a large external stack with shouldered offsets, a 2-light window to the right, and a doorway with composite jambs, a broad chamfered surround, and a modern plaque inscribed with a dedication to John Frieston, dated 1595, and a biblical verse. A small chamfered light sits above the plaque. Gable ends have 2-light windows, and dormers with 4-light mullioned-and-transomed windows, coped gables, and bases for finials to kneelers and apex stones.

The interior’s large, impressive, rectangular hall has three doorways to the east and west, and two to the south, all featuring composite jambs and monolithic lintels with broad chamfered surrounds. A large fireplace with a depressed Tudor arch, keystone, voussoirs, skewbacks, and a deeply chamfered surround occupies the north side; a stone seat is recessed within the inner jambs, and a doorway to the right has a window above with a deeply splayed surround. Original oak plank doors with iron strap hinges lead into seven rooms, which retain oak stop-chamfered posts, sills, and head beams, most with plank and muntin panelling. The windows have wooden lintels formed by wall plates. South rooms are open to the roof, exhibiting close studding above a tie beam and straight-braced posts leading to a high wall plate at the ridge.

The hospital's ingenious design minimizes heating requirements through a single fireplace. Historical records indicate that John Frieston built the hospital to accommodate seven poor men, with fuel provisioned by tenants of his lands, a practice documented in detail by J.W. Walker.