Stone House Prebend

This house dates primarily to the early 16th century, with later additions from the late 16th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

Materials and Construction

The west range and three bays of the north range are timber-framed with external walls of handmade red brick from different construction phases, laid in irregular bond. The east and west ends of the north range, and the entire east range, are built of handmade red brick, also from various periods. The roof is tile-covered.

Plan

The house has a U-shaped plan. The late 16th-century north range runs east-west, with an 18th-century extension at its eastern end. The early to mid-16th-century west range runs north-south, with an 18th-century extension to the north-west. A single-storey 19th-century east range also runs north-south.

Exterior

The two-storey house has pitched roofs, some with gable parapets, and irregular elevations. Most windows are wooden casements, probably dating to the 19th century.

North Range

From left to right, the north elevation begins with an 18th-century extension containing a door beneath a cambered brick arch and a two-light window, with a blocked window above. An external brick chimney follows. The main house features a single-light window and two-light window above, alongside a massive external chimney built of large squared sandstone blocks with three setbacks on the east side and two on the west, topped by a tall brick stack. A narrow blocked doorway on the chimney's front formerly provided access for sweeps.

The plank and batten front door, which is not original, sits under a lean-to shelter that also covers a small 19th-century dairy extension. This extension has a two-light window with internal bars and, below, two narrow blocked lights with bars. Above the lean-to is a three-light window.

The projecting gabled bay forms the north end of the early to mid-16th-century west range. It contains a large four-light window with a two-light window above. To the right stands an even larger external chimney of the same stone construction but with brickwork on the upper level and a similar bricked-up door. This chimney has six setbacks on the east side and three on the west, below which is a two-light window. The chimney pot was made by Wiltshire Potteries and is stamped with the date 1817. The gable roofline runs lower on the west side, built to accommodate the chimney of the 18th-century room added to the west end. This section has an arched opening adjoining a lean-to extension of possible early to mid-19th-century date.

West Elevation

The west elevation has a projecting gabled bay with a brick chimney stack rising from the right gable foot. It is lit by a three-light window and a two-light window on the first floor, with a blocked window to the right on the ground floor. The right return of this bay is blind. The rest of this long elevation has a vertical plank door in the corner with a two-light window above and one to the right. About halfway along stands another large external stone chimney with one set-off on each side and a tall brick stack.

The south gable end of the west range has a parapet and kneelers. Large three-light windows with keyed cambered stone lintels and stone sills light both floors. In the gable head is a rectangular stone plaque depicting a deer in a park—the arms of the Borough of Derby—dated 1594. The right return has a blocked doorway pierced by a small window in the right corner, with a two-light window above.

South Elevation

The south elevation of the main range has a timber wall plate with pegholes indicating it was formerly framed with square panels. One post remains on the right side. On the left is an early 19th-century doorcase with corner blocks and a 20th-century door, above which is part of the lead flashing from a removed conservatory (still shown on the current Ordnance Survey map). To the right is a three-light window under a segmental brick arch, with a four-light window above.

The single-storey east range has dentilled eaves, a large multi-paned window on the south gable end, and a door on the right return. The east gable end of the main range is lit by a three-light and a two-light window under segmental brick arches.

Interior

North Range

The principal late 16th-century north range consists of a three-bay room, with the west bay partitioned off to create the dairy. The remaining two-bay room, now fitted as a kitchen, has a substantial bridging beam and joists supported by a mid-19th-century post carved with the height marks and initials of the Parker children. The north wall has some exposed square framing above the front door.

The dairy, created in the second half of the 17th century and enlarged on the north side in the 19th century, has a brick floor. Shallow arched brick thralls, topped with ash mortar, line the south and west walls. A large cheese press against the east wall has a large sandstone press with a grooved gritstone tray beneath. It is uncertain whether this is the original press mentioned in the 1676 inventory.

The first floor of the north range also consists of a three-bay room, with the east bay partitioned to create a bathroom. The wall plates in the north and south walls are exposed, as are the tie beam in the east wall and two purlins. The roof over the north range was not inspected, but recent photographs from 2014 show a principal collar rafter roof with purlins.

The 18th-century extension built onto the east side of the north range consists of one room on both floors. The ground-floor room, formerly used by servants, has two chamfered bridging beams. The first-floor room has two purlins on each pitch.

West Range

In the early to mid-16th-century west range, the sitting room at the northern end and the stairwell to the south were both damaged by the 1976 fire. The south wall of the stairwell is close studded up to first-floor level, although the studs at the eastern end have been replaced due to fire damage, as has the straight-flight stair. The east wall of the stairwell has a corner post with a brace. The party wall between the stairwell and sitting room has been renewed, as has the ceiling in the latter room except for three joists. The bottom half of the large brick fireplace, including the stone hearth, is original, but the stone lintel, upper half of the brickwork, and the copper hood are replacements.

The room occupying the south end of the west range is panelled throughout in square panels with narrow moulded rails and muntins, and has an incorporated eight-panelled door. On the west wall is an impressive and beautifully crafted wooden chimneypiece with inlaid panels. The lower half is flanked by Ionic columns, above which is a frieze decorated with honeysuckle and an architrave with acanthus. The large overmantel has a central panel (now blank but formerly thought to contain a coat of arms) flanked by two arched panels with columns in between. The upper panels are decorated with tulips and carnations, and the lower with an architectural design (these are late 20th-century replicas of the originals). It has a Georgian hob grate with sides of Delft tiles, six of which are original, whilst the remainder were made in 2002. Behind the wooden surround remains the corner of an earlier Tudor arch stone fireplace.

On the first floor of the west range, a passage runs east-west to the north of the stair. The party wall between the passage and the room occupying the northern end of the range (known as the graffiti room) is close studded, and in the plaster are inscribed all the initials of the children of Nathaniel Bate's second marriage from the mid-17th century. In the graffiti room, the post in the south-west corner has braces running to the north and west. The east wall is close studded and contains the posts and lintel of a former doorway. Some of the posts bear candlemarks which have been interpreted either as evidence of former heating practices or as having thaumaturgic origins. The plaster on the south wall is etched with two small but elaborate designs signed IB for John Bate. They bear the word 'REX' in the centre and the date Sept VIII 1646; a third similar design on the east wall has 'N' in the centre. A further etching signed IB on the south wall is of a four-storey building. From photographic evidence from 2014, the roof structure is strengthened by purlins and has a king post which may be a later addition or replacement.

The south end of the west range is occupied by the master bedroom, which has two chamfered bridging beams of 1720s date and joists, and a close studded north wall. The north-east corner of this room has been partitioned off at an unknown date to create a small timber-framed room. From photographic evidence from 2014, there is a collar rafter roof with purlins above the south end of this range.

The 18th-century extension on the north-west side of the west range consists of a room on both floors. The ground-floor room has a delicate late 18th-century fireplace with a hob grate on the north wall, and two 18th-century cupboards on the south wall occupying the space of an earlier fireplace. The window has a vertically sliding shutter (also known as a sash shutter) which is housed below in a panelled box. Beneath this room is a brick barrel-vaulted cellar. The north wall contains blocks of stone thought to be of Roman origin.

East Range

This 19th-century range consists of a single-storey room used as a potting shed, which has a collar rafter roof incorporating reused timbers dating to the early 16th century.