Holme Pierrepont Hall

Holme Pierrepont Hall is a large country house of Grade I listing, set on the north side of Holme Pierrepont Hall Drive. The building represents an early 16th-century courtyard house originally constructed for the Pierrepont family, who became Earls and Dukes of Kingston and Earls Manvers. What survives today is a truncated U-plan structure, with the south range forming the main surviving element.

The house has been substantially altered and added to over several centuries. The north range was rebuilt by Robert Pierrepont, the first Earl of Kingston, in 1628, but was demolished in the 1730s and subsequently reconstructed in the 1870s. The east side features mid-18th-century bays. Further significant alterations were made around 1800, with additional work undertaken in 1875.

The exterior is constructed of red brick with some blue brick chequering and diaper work, complemented by ashlar dressings and areas of render. The hipped slate roofs sit behind embattled parapets dating to around 1800, which are coped with ashlar and feature single bands of ashlar and dogtooth moulding running beneath them. The building stands on a stone plinth.

The south or entrance front displays four red brick stacks, each with a single band of dogtooth decoration. This elevation rises two storeys across twelve bays. The two single bays fourth from either end project and rise to two and a half storeys, forming turrets. The central entrance comprises a rendered, chamfered four-centred arch with an inner similarly double-chamfered arched doorway and a double 19th-century door. Either side of the entrance are single large four-centred arched brick niches. To the right stands a single 17th-century ashlar tripartite glazing bar cross casement with dripmould. In the turrets are three small glazing bar casements with ashlar surrounds and dripmoulds. Further right is another similar tripartite casement with dripmould and a single comparable smaller niche. The far-right single bay is set back and lacks openings on the ground floor. To the left stands a single 19th-century ashlar mullion tripartite casement with dripmould and a single depressed arched brick niche. The far-left single bay is also set back with no ground-floor openings. The first floor above features six 17th-century ashlar tripartite glazing bar cross casements with dripmoulds; the far-left bay contains a single ashlar glazing bar cross casement. In the turrets at the top floor are single two-light ashlar mullion windows with dripmoulds. The sides of the turrets contain a few blocked or glazed small narrow lights. Two tie plates are present on this front.

The west or church front preserves a single early 16th-century window with three arched ashlar lights, a flush ashlar quoin surround, and a hood mould. Above it sits a single 17th-century tripartite ashlar glazing bar casement with dripmould.

The irregular garden or east front extends across fifteen bays. The left bays are early 16th-century with various alterations and additions, while those to the right represent later 17th-century, 18th-century, and 19th-century work. The elevation displays various ashlar mullion and cross casements, some with dripmoulds and some with arched ashlar lights. 19th-century bays feature wooden cross casements. The third bay from the left projects slightly and contains a partially concealed 16th-century arched garderobe window under a flat arch with panelled spandrels. The ninth and tenth bays from the left project, displaying ashlar quoins forming the base of a cupola documented in a drawing by Thoroton in 1676.

An inner courtyard is formed by the south, east, and north wings. The west side features a red brick and render embattled wall with a band of dogtooth running beneath the embattlements. The north side of the courtyard is completed by a single-storey arcade erected in 1875, which continues along part of the east range. The courtyard elevation presents various doorways, ashlar glazing bar cross casements, ashlar mullion casements, and plain casements, some with dripmoulds.

The interior of the south wing contains lodgings on both ground and first floors, each equipped with garderobes. Some lodgings are accessed via four-centred arched doorways, some keyed for plaster. Internal partitions are close-studded and rise to roof pitch. Large chamfered beams are evident. Two fireplaces feature moulded jambs and four-centred arches. The first floor includes a chamber at the east end with an exposed roof displaying cusped wind braces, which are reputed to extend the length of this front. The east front contains an inserted 17th-century long gallery on the first floor, lined with two circa 1610 ashlar fireplaces and two early 17th-century ashlar arched doorways. A blocked early 16th-century ashlar window with two arched ashlar lights also survives. The north end of the south wing features a fine late 17th-century dogleg staircase, inserted here in the early 18th century, with pierced and carved foliated scroll balustrades. The newels are carved with low reliefs, some topped with finials, whilst the closed strings display low relief carving.