Brocksford Hall And Attached Stable Block

Brocksford Hall and Attached Stable Block

Small country house, now school, built in 1893 for Mr C W Jervis Smith by the Chester architects Douglas and Fordham. The building is designed in Jacobean style.

The main house is constructed of brick faced with Ruabon wire-cut bricks, embellished with blue brick diaper work and mottled red and white Hollington stone dressings. The roof is plain tile with dark brindled tiles. Stone-coped gables feature moulded kneelers and ball finials. Six tall brick stacks rise from the roof, and a brick tower to the south east contains the water tank and is topped with a pyramid roof.

The elevations are symmetrical in overall massing, though not in detail. The north elevation contains seven bays and five gables. Windows throughout are mullioned and transomed with ovolo moulded mullions. An off-centre two-storey porch dominates the north elevation, featuring a Tudor-arched doorway with plank double doors and single-light windows with transoms either side. Above this is a canted oriel with 1-3-1 lights, angle finials and a sunk panel bearing a coat of arms. To the right of the porch stands a 4-light mullioned and transomed window with a 4-light mullion window above and decorative cresting. Beyond this is a large paired staircase window of 2 plus 2 lights with two transoms. Similar fenestration appears to the left of the porch, comprising one, two, three and four-light windows with a smaller secondary staircase window. A low, flat-roofed single-storey bay to the left is a slightly later addition.

The six-bay south elevation displays a symmetrical arrangement of three gables. The advanced centre bay contains a 4-light mullioned and transomed window with a 3-light window above. To the left are two 3-light mullioned and transomed windows with matching 3-light windows above. An advanced gabled bay to the left features a broad two-storey canted bay window with 2-3-2 lights to each floor, the lower lights having transoms, plus a small 2-light window in the gable. To the right of the centre bay a doorway with a later half-timbered porch is accompanied by a 3-light mullioned and transomed window with a 4-light window above. A further advanced bay to the right nearly matches its counterpart on the left, with a canted bay, 4-light window in the gable and a slit window above. The water tower is set back to the right. In the angle between projections stands a single-storey bay with a curious stepped parapet.

A brick and timber-framed stable block is attached to the north east corner, forming an L-range. The carriage entrance has a timber-framed upper floor with a 3-light window to the west. A pedimented bell turret sits above, topped with an ogee-capped louvred lantern and weather vane.

The interior contains several re-used mid-18th-century features from Fenton Hall in Staffordshire. The staircase, around an open well, has two turned balusters per tread, curved tread ends, and a ramped and wreathed handrail, with raised and fielded panelled dado. The drawing room preserves mid-18th-century panelling and a doorcase with lugged architrave featuring egg and dart motif, together with an elaborate chimney piece incorporating a Rococo overmantel enclosing a circular painting. The upper landing displays fluted columns and keyed segmental arches, with a re-used 18th-century chimney piece. The entrance hall contains possibly re-used Jacobean panelling and a re-used plaster frieze.