Gatehouse And Attached Courtyard Walls At Hamstall Hall

The gatehouse and attached courtyard walls at Hamstall Hall date from the late 16th century. They are constructed of red brick in English bond, featuring ashlar quoins and dressings. The gatehouse is flanked by a pair of octagonal turrets, each topped with an ogee-moulded cornice and a stone dome. A rusticated semi-circular gate arch with a raised key and strapwork parapet is situated between the turrets. Each turret includes a 2-light chamfer-mullioned window with a straight hood mould facing the gateway approach. Behind each turret, there is a Tudor-arch doorway with sunken spandrels.

The attached walls enclose the north-east and north-west sides of the main courtyard at Hamstall Hall, with the gatehouse positioned in the center of the north-west wall. The north-east wall ends at the south-east with a tower. Near the tower, there are remnants of former buildings that once lined the inside of the walls, including two early 16th-century windows: one a bay window with three lights and the other with four lights, both featuring basket-arch lights and ogee-moulded mullions and surrounds.

Inside the gate turrets, nesting boxes have been cut into the walls, converting them into dovecotes. This site is also scheduled as an Ancient Monument.