Swithland Hall

Swithland Hall is a mansion that was partially completed by 1834 and finished by 1852. It was designed by James Pennethorne for G.J. Danvers-Butler, who later became the Earl of Lanesborough. The building is constructed from granite and slate rubble stone and brick, all of which are stuccoed and painted, with Swithland slate roofs behind a parapet. The symmetrical stuccoed chimney stacks have flues grouped in twos, threes, and fours.

The mansion features a central block flanked by two wings, all designed in a restrained neo-classical style. The ground floor has banded rustication, a first-floor sill band, and a dentilled cornice. The building is two storeys high, with a sunken basement in parts, and mostly has 6/6 or tripartite sash windows. The entrance front includes a one-storey porch supported by four paired Greek Doric fluted columns, which are accessed by four stone steps. The entrance features a two-leaved door with sidelights and a long overlight, divided into four panels with astragals.

On either side of the entrance, there are pedimented sections with scroll-headed tripartite windows below and Grecian oriels above, with sashes beyond. The wings project forward, each having three sashes on both floors and one blank window on either side. The ends of the wings have low curving walls that mask the basements, with various sashes and entrances to the basements on the outer sides.

The central block of the garden front projects forward in a 1-3-1 arrangement, featuring a central canted bay that rises to the second storey, adorned with a large carved tablet displaying the Danvers-Butler arms. There are sashes on either side and below, with the ground floor central sash having partly glazed doors approached by two stone steps. An urn crowns the roof of this section. There are further canted bays at the ends of the block, one on the right end and two on the left, along with additional sashes on the rear of the wings.

To the right, there is a one-storey flat-roofed ballroom with a central canted bay. Inside, the entrance vestibule has semi-circular ends leading to a staircase hall featuring an oak staircase from around 1834, with a turned and fluted oak balustrade. The room to the left of the vestibule has good decoration, likely from the same period, while other areas contain simple fireplaces, cornices, and all original doors. The rainwater heads on the wing are dated 1852.