Elton Hall

Elton Hall is a house with origins dating back to the 17th century or earlier, which was partly rebuilt and refronted in the mid-18th century and restored in the late 20th century. The structure features finely jointed handmade brick and rubble, with partly hipped plain tiled roofs supported by two brick ridge stacks and large brick end stacks with offsets. The building has two storeys, a cellar, and an attic with dormers, along with a moulded timber eaves cornice on the front elevation.

It consists of six bays, with a gable above the central two bays. The windows on the main floors are all ogee-arched 12-pane sashes set beneath cambered heads. There are four 20th-century gabled dormers with 2-light casements and a circular window in the central gable. The central entrance is flanked by narrow 8-pane sashes that match the main windows. The entrance features an open pediment, pilasters, panelled reveals and soffit, a door with six raised and fielded panels, and a barred segmental fanlight.

At the rear of the main front range, there are three brick wings and a substantial rubble north-east wing, which may date back to the 17th century, linked to the stables by a 20th-century single-storey addition. Inside, there is an open well staircase with turned balusters and a moulded and wreathed handrail located at the rear of the main block, along with a small section of 18th-century panelling in the entrance hall. Some 17th-century or possibly medieval timbers are reported to survive in the main building and the north-east wing.

The house was formerly owned by Andrew Knight, who was the brother of Richard Payne Knight, the builder of Downton Castle nearby. Andrew Knight was a founder and served as president of the Horticultural Society for 27 years, during which he experimented with raising new varieties of fruit at Elton. He left Elton in 1809 to live at Downton Castle.