Hamstall Hall

Hamstall Hall is a mansion with a 15th-century core that underwent extensive alterations in the late 16th century and subsequently. The building is constructed in red brick of at least three periods, indicating gradual replacement of earlier timber framing, with a plain tile roof and a massive brick ridge stack.

By the end of the 18th century, Hamstall Hall comprised an essentially late 16th-century complex of buildings concentrated in the south corner of a large rectangular courtyard aligned north-west to south-east. The main approach was by way of a gatehouse (separately listed) in the centre of the north-west wall. A 15th-century tower (separately listed) stood at the south-east corner and was formerly linked to the main house. The existing remains consist of an L-shaped range occupying the south-east half of the south-west side of the courtyard, with a short wing at its south-east corner linking it to an elaborate porch.

The south-west front displays two storeys and an attic with 16th-century brickwork to the ground storey and 18th-century brickwork to the second storey. Eight roof bays are present, with irregular fenestration of 18th and 19th-century casements. A blocked 16th-century doorway to the left features a Tudor arch with sunken spandrels. A boarded door stands to the left of centre. A large gabled wing to the right has stone quoins rising as high as the offset second storey, and a 19th-century brick gable. To the left of the wing is a set-back smaller 18th-century gabled projection with a door to the right-hand side and a small lean-to extension to the left. To the rear of the building are four blocked 16th-century doorways with Tudor arches, one featuring panelled spandrels.

The south-east front contains a south-west wing to the left with a 19th-century glazed door and porch, flanked on the right by a brick and stone buttress; two jambs of a blocked first-floor window directly above. The wing has two phases of early brickwork in English bond with a toothed eaves band. Attached to the right is the gable end of the main range with ground storey in English bond of the same build as the wing, and 18th-century brickwork above. Two single-light windows with chamfered stone surrounds occupy the ground storey, with two casements at first-floor level and one at attic level. A single-storey shaft wing, formerly the brewhouse, continues the ground storey phase of brickwork to the right and is terminated by the Porch.

The Porch is a late 16th-century brick building with ashlar quoins and dressings and a coped gable on shaped kneelers. It displays two storeys and an attic with an attic cornice. A central portico with Tuscan columns supports a balcony with strapwork balustrade. The first-floor doorway and flanking windows all feature keyed semi-circular arches springing from imposts. In the gable is a strapwork-embellished oval oculus. A two-storey lean-to bay to the left, of the same build, has four-light chamfered mullioned windows in rebated surrounds, with the first-floor window blocked. Ground and first-floor cross windows to the right-hand return have semi-circular heads and roll-and-fillet moulded keystones, possibly re-used.

Internally, the porch contains a stone fireplace with a four-centred head, corbelled lintel, and moulded surround. The kitchen is at the north-west end of the main range. In the south-west wall stands a massive 16th-century stone fireplace with a shouldered arch and chamfered surround. A network of massive chamfered and stopped ceiling beams with chamfered joists laid flat is present. Opposed entrances, now blocked, exist at the north-west end of the room, with some evidence that the passage was screened off from the kitchen. A blocked doorway also stands in the south-east corner of the room. The bay next to the kitchen is occupied by a chimney stack, a small pantry, and a rear entrance lobby. Beyond this is a room with 17th-century oak panelling. Between this room and the south-west wing is a former through-passage with exposed timber framing. The passage gives access to a late 17th-century staircase with turned balusters and panelled dado, and to two rooms within the south-west wing.

The front room is completely oak panelled and contains a wall cupboard with a semi-circular arch and raised key, along with an ovolo-moulded ceiling beam. The rear room retains a 16th-century stone fireplace with a chamfered Tudor arch on corbels. On the first floor, exposed close-studded wall framing in the north-west end wall probably dates to the 15th century and incorporates a later window with ogee-moulded mullions. 17th-century oak wall panelling is present. The adjoining room to the south-east has 17th-century oak wall panelling, a Tudor arch fireplace, and a smaller chamber ensuite, also completely oak panelled with a carved frieze of dragons. More panelling appears in the next room to the south-east, including a cupboard door with part of a late medieval painting on its back.

Hamstall Hall was the home of the Fitzherberts from the early 16th century, and much of the 16th-century building work was probably carried out for Thomas Fitzherbert. The Porch is scheduled as an Ancient Monument.