Shardlow Hall with attached garden seat to north-east corner, steps c.14m from north-west front and steps c.7m west of south-west corner

Shardlow Hall is a substantial two-storey country house with attached wings and a garden seat, dating from the late 17th century with major additions of the mid-18th century and later modifications.

The main building is constructed of ashlared Keuper sandstone from Weston Cliff with stone dressings on the south-east entrance front, and red brick with gauged brick and stone dressings on the north-west garden front. It has a flat roof with stone chimney stacks over the original 17th-century core and slate-clad roofs to the wings.

The plan comprises a two-storey central section built on a double-pile plan. The entrance front contains a small central hall with two reception rooms either side, while the garden front has a larger central staircase hall flanked by two reception rooms to the north-east and a three-bay saloon to the south-west, with similar arrangements on the first floor. Two Palladian wings were added around 1768: the north-east wing served service functions, while the south-west wing was substantially rebuilt in the mid-19th century as staff accommodation. Both wings, particularly the north-east, have been considerably altered and modified in the 20th century.

The south-east entrance front is severe in character. Its five-bay central section has a deeply recessed central bay lit by two closely set windows over the front door. Either side are one-bay projections flanked by slightly recessed single bays. Early 18th-century rusticated quoins mark the corners, and each floor has continuous hoodmoulds. The central bay features a flight of steps with shaped 17th-century balusters leading to an 18th-century moulded doorcase with double keystones and a 20th-century double-leaf part-glazed door. Above is a diamond-shaped plaque inscribed '1684'. The regular fenestration consists of six-over-six pane sashes with exposed sash boxes set flush with the outer wall face. A high flush parapet with plain copings crowns the elevation. Slightly recessed single-storey wings flank either side, each with three semicircular-headed glazing-bar sashes and a plain parapet with balustrading panels above the windows. The advanced end pavilions carry continuous banding at parapet, ground- and first-floor levels, and moulded pediments with bases at eaves level for ball finials, some now missing. The south-west pavilion has central six-over-six pane sash windows to ground and first floors; the north-east pavilion has a blocked central window and a blind elevation above.

The north-west garden front is more elegant, comprising seven bays with slightly advanced outer bays featuring rusticated quoins at both ends. A stone plinth, plain stone band at first-floor level, and moulded stone cornice with blocking course articulate the elevation. A flight of steps with shaped balusters leads to the central doorway, which has a pedimented Gibbs surround and a 20th-century double-leaf part-glazed door with two-pane overlight. To either side are three six-over-six pane sash windows with flat gauged brick arches and stone keyblocks; windows to the south-west have been enlarged. First-floor windows are similar except those in the third and fourth bays, which contain early 20th-century stained glass, and the central window, which has a shouldered moulded stone surround with keyblock. The wings have been substantially altered on this elevation: the south-west wing has a 20th-century single-storey linking block to the end pavilion, and steps have been erected in front of a canted bay window.

The side elevation of the south-west pavilion, rebuilt in the mid-19th century, is rendered and incised to resemble stone. It features an advanced central pedimented bay with quoins, stone plinth, and continuous first-floor band. The ground floor of the central bay is lit by three six-over-six pane sashes, and the first floor by a tripartite window, both with continuous sill bands. Narrower bays either side contain sash windows, with first-floor examples set in pedimented gables rising through eaves level. The side elevation of the north-east pavilion is plainer, constructed of red brick with three bays and two storeys, showing evidence of alterations to the brickwork and replaced fenestration.

The interior retains a high proportion of joinery and fixtures from its principal period. These include early 18th-century two- and six-panelled doors with H-L hinges, some set in panelled soffits and jambs; deep skirting boards; moulded cornicing; window shutters; fitted cupboards and shelving; and fireplaces, including two with bolection moulded surrounds. The principal features of special interest are concentrated in the late 17th- and early 18th-century central section.

The entrance hall displays a panelled dado, a prominent panelled doorcase with moulded cornice supported by paired consoles, and a dentilled cornice enriched with egg and dart ornament. A bolection moulded fireplace with 19th-century tiles is present. Access to reception rooms and the staircase hall is provided through three moulded arches with panelled soffits and sides, with two similar arches in the first-floor corridor serving the bedrooms. The staircase hall contains a deep moulded 17th-century cornice and plasterwork oval, together with a fine early 18th-century open-well staircase. This features three knopped balusters per tread—one plain, one fluted and one twisted—a moulded ramped handrail, scrolled tread-ends, and a panelled dado with fluted pilasters.

The room to the south-west of the entrance hall and three first-floor rooms on the south-east front retain excellent full-height late 17th- and early 18th-century panelling with incorporated two-panelled doors. In the ground-floor panelled room stands a marquetry overmantle above an 18th-century marble fireplace with fluted keystone. The two-bay room to the north-east of the entrance hall, now subdivided, features a delicate dentilled cornice and two 18th-century tall arched niches.

The three-bay saloon on the garden front possesses early 19th-century reeded window and door surrounds with floral motifs in the corners and a pair of re-set Rococo-style marble fireplaces with curved mantels incorporating shell motifs and supported by elaborate consoles. The coffered ceiling with ornate plasterwork decorated with floral mouldings, Vitruvian scroll, and prominent circular roundels of intertwining fruit and foliage dates to around 1900. The south-west wing contains some high-quality Edwardian painted glass.

Attached to the north-east corner of the six-bay garden front is an S-shaped red brick wall with flat stone coping, incorporating a highly decorative early 19th-century garden seat. Constructed of ashlared stone and pebblework, the seat features a central depressed semicircular-headed niche with rusticated arch and jambs, an ashlar back and pebblework dome, and a wooden bench on shaped legs. Above this rises a Dutch gable in pebblework with moulded stone copings and a dentilled pediment. To either side are blind depressed semicircular-headed rusticated arches with ashlar backs and pebblework spandrels, flanked by plain pilasters. Above these, on either side, is a pierced parapet with piers at both ends for ball finials, some now missing.

Two flights of three stone steps are located in the grounds. One flight, flanked by ball finials, stands approximately 14 metres north-west of the steps leading up the garden front. The other, which has lost its finials, is approximately 7 metres west of the south-west corner of the house.