Scrivelsby Court

Scrivelsby Court is a gatehouse, now a small country house, of complex phased construction spanning the early 13th century to the 1960s. It is situated on a double moated site, both moats partially intact.

The building is constructed of red brick with limestone ashlar dressings and some limestone rubble. It has plain tile roofs with stone coped and brick tumbled gables, with a finial on the south gable. Two ridge stacks with octagonal stock brick shafts (taken from a former early 19th-century house to the east, demolished around 1960) rise from the roof.

The west front is of two storeys and six irregular bays. A limestone rubble buttress of early 13th-century date stands to the left, adjoining a small section of 13th-century rubble wall and a 13th-century rubble north return wall. The remainder of the ground floor to the right dates from around 1380 in red brick, defined by a 16th-century moulded ashlar string course.

A carriage archway to the left has a shallow pointed head, rectangular relieving arch, and continuous moulded ashlar surround; it is now filled with 20th-century wooden panelling containing a rectangular porch with double ribbed doors. To the left is a small rectangular squint with rectangular ashlar hood mould, containing a fragmentary ashlar bust, probably of early 13th-century date and excavated from the north-east corner foundations in 1958–60. Above it is a small rectangular opening with a sharp triangular ashlar hood mould into which a 13th-century king's head has been inserted, also excavated from the foundations. Below are a small head and a couple of plain corbels.

Two rectangular windows stand to the right of the carriage archway. The window immediately adjacent originally had three cusped ogee-headed lights with an ashlar surround of around 1330, but was later opened up into a doorway and now contains a 20th-century three-light wooden mullion window, with the hood mould of around 1380 remaining. The window beyond, of around 1380, retains three ogee-headed cusped lights, ashlar surround, hood mould, and head label stops. To the left of the carriage archway is a wooden two-light mullion window with ashlar surround and hood mould. A similar window beyond is inserted into a blocked ashlar-dressed doorway with hood mould and semi-circular head above, now blocked with brick. A break in the brick bonding to the left possibly marks where a buttress stood, as revealed in Buck's engraving of 1726. A single two-light 20th-century wooden mullion window beyond has ashlar surround and hood mould.

The first floor, of 1574 date, rises above an ashlar string course which climbs above the carriage archway. A rectangular plaque above bears an inverted shield and scrolls. A small early 13th-century head was excavated from the foundations to the left. Above the carriage archway is a vesica containing a quatrefoil with ashlar rectangular hood mould and flanking ashlar string course. The tumbled gable above bears a clockface and terminates with a rectangle containing a cross. Four rectangular windows to the left and three to the right all have ashlar surrounds and four narrow lights with 20th-century wooden mullions.

The south end has a ground floor of around 1380 with 20th-century double-glazed doors and a small rectangular opening in the brick to the left. A moulded ashlar string course rises above, with brickwork of 1574 and a glazing bar sash with brick band above.

The east front comprises nine irregular bays. Brickwork of around 1380 overlaps the south-east corner, with several 13th-century limestone blocks below. The three southern bays are of 16th-century brick; the ground floor of the central two bays contains a carriage archway and doorway of brickwork of around 1380, with 16th-century brickwork above. Four bays to the right were rebuilt in 1958–60 reusing 16th-century brick. The carriage archway to the right has a shallow pointed head, continuous ashlar moulded surround, and is blocked by a 20th-century mullion and transom window. A 16th-century doorway to the right has a pointed head, continuous moulded ashlar surround, and a partially glazed ribbed door. Above is a small triangular-headed opening and two 13th-century stone corbels.

A small section of ashlar-dressed plinth stands to the left, with three glazing bar sashes in 18th-century openings with segmental heads. A small horizontal 20th-century casement is to the right of the doorway, and three glazing bar sashes with flat heads beyond. A moulded ashlar string course rises above the carriage archway and doorway, bearing a rectangular plaque inscribed 1574 with a coat of arms. A 13th-century animal head stands to the left. An oval window above is inscribed with a quatrefoil and rectangular ashlar hood mould, flanked by ashlar string course. The tumbled gable rises above with a clockface and terminates in a rectangle inscribed with a cross. To the left, two glazing bar casements flank a single wooden mullion window with four narrow lights. To the right is a long 20th-century fixed glazing bar window with three glazing bar casements beyond.

Low 20th-century stock brick additions to the north are of no architectural interest.

The interior contains a first-floor wall at the level of the north side of the carriage opening, constructed of box framing with curved braces. The tie beam roof remains intact with curved braces; upper sections are covered by plasterboard.

A hall window in the eastern carriage archway contains roundels and plaques of 16th and 17th-century stained glass removed from the now-demolished house to the east. These include a roundel with coat of arms inscribed 1662 and a plaque with coat of arms inscribed 1658. There are six plaques depicting men dressed as knights and courtiers, and several women, all in Elizabethan and early Stuart dress. Smaller details include Christ and disciples setting sail, Saint Dunstan and the Devil, William Tell, and Saint Catherine.

The drawing room to the south includes two roundels of Saint Matthew and Saint Mark, and the red rose of Lancaster and white rose of York flanking a coat of arms.

Hall and passage windows to the north-west contain various stained glass coats of arms.

The first-floor west window contains a large quatrefoil with five roundels, probably of 17th-century Flemish origin, including Saint Peter and Saint Andrew, a female saint being led from a classical city to martyrdom, scenes of organ playing, reading and drinking, and grouped saints.

The interior also features a 20th-century staircase and bolection-moulded stone fireplaces.

The building was substantially restored and rebuilt in 1958–60 by S. Wright of Yorkshire, the work informed by Buck's engraving of 1726 and photographic records of the restoration process.