Irnham Hall

Irnham Hall is a substantial country house of complex date and development, with origins dating to around 1200, substantial 14th-century work for the Luttrell family, early 16th-century rebuilding by Sir Richard de Thimleby, alterations made in 1765 for the Conquest family, and late 19th-century alterations following a fire in the north wing in 1887.

The building is constructed of coursed squared limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings. The roofs are of Ashlar, Collyweston slate and slate, with raised stone coped gables and finials. The chimneys are numerous, comprising diamond and square 19th-century ridge and wall stacks arranged in groups of twos and threes, and a single circular stack with moulded top to the west range, which is a relict from the early medieval house.

The plan is L-shaped, with a screens passage and Great Hall. The building is two storeys with attics and cellar. The front elevation is seven bays wide, with the left-hand three bays advanced. It has an embattled parapet and stepped buttresses throughout.

The entrance is marked by a central 16th-century moulded semi-circular archway flanked by Doric pillars with strapwork bases supporting a pulvinated frieze. To the right of this is a similar blocked opening into the porch, which shelters an inner panelled door with fanlight set in a stone surround with 14th-century wave moulding, now topped with a mid-19th-century semi-circular head. To the left of the doorway are single 19th-century windows of four and three lights. To the right are a pair of 16th-century three-light windows, beyond which is a canted two-storey bay window and a further four-light window. The first floor has four three-light windows and two of four lights. Behind the parapet are four steep stone coped gables above the hall, each containing a three-light window. In the angle between the fronts is a facetted projection with single four-light windows to each floor. At the centre of the south front stands a three-storey facetted tower with single two-light windows to each floor. To either side are single canted two-storey bays containing two-light windows, and to each floor are four tall 19th-century three-light windows. All windows are mullioned and have four-centred arched heads to the lights, with moulded surrounds and hoods.

To the rear of the north wing is a fine 16th-century stone door surround comprising a pediment supported by square Doric columns with ball finials and a pyramidal jewel at the centre of the pediment.

Interior

At the end of the screens passage is a 14th-century pointed doorway with two orders of sunk wave moulding. To the side wall are two single chamfered 16th-century arches serving the service range. The gallery floor above has 16th-century moulded beams with run-out stops. The hall has been largely remodelled in the mid-19th century, with the ceiling divided into three gables containing painted plaster panels and 19th-century moulded beams on carved brackets. The first floor contains a musicians gallery and long gallery facing the front, with 19th-century linenfold panelling. The bay window retains its original 16th-century moulded stone surround with a canted moulded girder bearing a carved central motif. The service area has chamfered and stopped beams. The back stairs are 17th-century with turned balusters, knopped newels and a moulded handrail. The roofs are of clasped purlin construction. Within the roof space can be seen the top of a circa 1200 chimney stack, which bears a circular shaft with chamfered weathering courses. The scar of an earlier gable is visible, showing that this stack predates the existing roof. The base of this chimney stack, with chamfered plinth, can be seen in the 17th-century cellar. In the attic chamber near the chimney is a good quality 16th-century fireplace with a four-centred head, moulded surround and cornice.

Historical Context

In the Middle Ages, Irnham was the possession of the powerful Luttrell family. Between 1320 and 1340, Sir Geoffrey Luttrell commissioned a Psalter, now housed in the British Library. The brass of his son, Andrew, is to be found in Irnham Church.