Staunton Hall And Service Wing

Staunton Hall and Service Wing

This is a country house of 16th-century origin with a service wing, standing on the east side of High Street. The earliest part dates to the 16th century, with late 18th-century additions probably by John Carr of York, and further work in the 19th century. The building is constructed of coursed rubble and ashlar, with brick and some rendering, beneath a hipped slate roof with a gable and bellcote to the east.

The Main House

The north front is the principal elevation. Eight irregularly dispersed stacks rise from the roofline; notably, the stack above the centre west bay is star-shaped with 8 points. Off centre to the east, a projecting two-storey porch with coped and gabled walls dominates the composition. The central Tudor arched doorway contains a door with blind panels decorated with four quatrefoils to the base and three arched lights above. A hood mould with label stops frames this entry. Above the doorway, supported by five corbels, sits an ashlar plaque carved with the Staunton coat of arms, dated 1573, with decorated surround and slightly projecting hood.

The left floor of the porch bay contains a stone transom and mullion casement with three arched lights and lead panes, topped by a hood mould and label stops. A blocked opening appears on the west wall of this bay. The adjacent bay to the east has single stone transom and mullion casements on both floors, each with five arched lights, lead panes, hood mould and label stops. The bay west of the porch contains on the ground floor a stone transom and mullion casement with five arched lights, lead panes, hood mould and label stops. Above are two similar casements; the eastern one has three lights only. The ground floor window displays stained glass in the top half of its three central lights. Between the two floors, an ashlar plaque resting on remnants of a string course carries a carved coat of arms and the date 1554. The two outer bays are rendered brick of the 18th century, each with three glazing bar sashes per floor.

The South Front

The south front, probably designed by John Carr of York, is constructed of coursed rubble and brick with ashlar dressings, set upon an ashlar plinth. It is two storeys and ten bays. An off-centre canted projection spanning three bays dominates the composition. Its central doorway is raised on four steps and framed by a moulded ashlar surround with moulded brackets supporting a slightly projecting hood. The half-glazed door has a six-pane overlight. Single glazing bar sashes flank the doorway: two bays to the east and one to the west, with outer projecting double bays fitted with glazing bar sashes. The 3rd and 4th bays from the west are topped by segmental arches with ashlar surrounds and keystones. Ten similar sashes light the upper storey. The eastern projecting double bay has a blocked opening on its west side between ground and first floors, framed by an ashlar surround. Scattered ashlar quoins appear on the bay east of the western projecting double bay. A single-storey red brick extension with hipped slate roof and single brick ridge stack stands to the east, containing three glazing bar sashes.

Service Wing and Extensions

Early 19th-century coursed rubble extensions extend to the east of the main house. One section, 1½ storeys tall, has a hipped slate roof and rendered rear stack with three pots. An arched entrance to the ground floor is flanked by two wooden mullion casements with four and three lights respectively, surmounted by blank arches. Above are four wooden mullion casements with lead panes and three arched lights on the west, with a single two-arched light window to the east. All openings have flat heads. Between ground and first floors are two wall plates. The attached eastern extension has a hipped slate roof with gable to the west and single gable stack, standing 1½ storeys but slightly lower than the western extension. Two casements per floor employ stone transoms with three lights and lozenge-shaped panes. Six round tie plates punctuate the walls. A coursed rubble wall with brick coping and a 19th-century ashlar orb on ashlar base terminates the extension to the east.