Hipper Hall

Hipper Hall

House, dating from the early 17th century, with alterations and additions made in the early 18th century, and further altered in 1959. The building is constructed of coursed Coal Measures Sandstone with ashlar dressings and stone quoins. It features coped gables with moulded kneelers, one ridge stack to the rear range, and a stone slate roof.

The house follows a double-pile plan. The front entrance between the gables at the south-west end dates to the 18th century, whilst the present entrance at the north-east end was added or remodelled in 1959. There is a single-bay advanced gabled wing to the north-east end of the rear pile, two storeys high, presumably matching the height of the earlier house. The building stands two storeys and attics, with three bays, though both ranges have been raised.

The advanced wing displays a five-light recessed chamfered mullioned and transomed window beneath a drip mould at ground floor level, with a similar three-light mullioned window above. The main range contains tall, altered 17th-century openings now serving as windows. The south-west end opening, formerly mullioned and transomed, has been altered to incorporate tall, asymmetrically spaced 20th-century chamfered mullions set in old stone surrounds. A similar two-light window occupies a former doorway position south-west of the advanced wing. Above this is a 20th-century two-light mullioned window, and higher still, a pair of 17th-century recessed chamfered mullioned windows (two-light and three-light) each below a drip mould.

The south-west end elevation features an early 18th-century gabled porch with coped gables and scrolled kneelers at the junction of the front and rear ranges. The outer doorway has a shouldered surround with an oval window in an ornamental surround above the doorhead, and a plain plank door. The porch encloses an 18th-century doorway with a moulded and shouldered surround and plain plank door. South-east of the doorway stands an 18th-century chamfered mullioned window with an advanced head having a hollow moulding that serves as an integral drip mould. To the north-west are two 20th-century two-light chamfered mullioned windows. At first floor level are two single-light 17th-century openings and a two-light window without mullions, all with drip moulds. A two-light recessed chamfered mullioned window at second floor level, formerly the attic of the earlier house, crowns this elevation. The gables show clear evidence of having been raised.

The north-west elevation displays asymmetrically positioned windows spanning three periods. The ground floor contains two three-light recessed chamfered mullioned windows and a former 17th-century two-light window with the mullion removed, all beneath drip moulds. At the centre of the building, at staircase half-landing level, are two two-light early 18th-century chamfered mullioned windows with integral drip moulds. First floor level contains two-light mullioned windows, the north-east example with chamfered mullions and the south-west with flush mullions. The north-east elevation was substantially remodelled in 1959 but retains some 17th and 18th-century mullioned openings.

Interior features include a spine wall between the two piles which may have been timber-framed. At the south-west end, the dividing wall retains a plank and muntin screen incorporating a mid-wall post. The screen to the north-east end has been repositioned to accommodate a new hallway. The central hearth to the rear pile retains a 17th-century stone surround with splayed jambs and corbelled heads. Some first floor rooms contain 17th-century square oak panelling. The staircase features newel posts with polygonal finials. The roof is carried on upper cruck trusses with single side purlins and a ridge purlin.