Middleton Hall

Middleton Hall is a country house of complex medieval, early 18th-century and 19th-century phases, arranged around an open courtyard with northern entrance.

The earliest surviving element is an early 14th-century building in the east range, which incorporates some 12th-century material. Built of finely jointed dressed sandstone, partly cement-rendered, it stands 2 storeys with a chamfered offset at first floor level. A roughly central doorway with 3-centred arch and chamfered surround is flanked by a round-headed loop with splayed jambs (partly hidden by render) on the right and an inserted doorway on the left. Blocked inserted openings exist at first floor level. The doorway opens into a north-to-south chamber 28 feet long and 13 feet wide; a similar-sized chamber existed above, its floor carried on a continuous offset. The south wall contains a cupboard with Caernarvon arched lintel, shelf groove and door rebate. First floor doorways with segmental head and roll-moulded surround connect to what were likely medieval buildings to north and south, as confirmed by surviving wall continuations. An early 14th-century arch-braced collar rafter roof survives. To the north, separated by a gap, stands a much-altered timber-framed building, possibly the remnant of a chapel for which Sir Baldwin Freville received licence circa 1390.

At the north-east corner of the quadrangle is a probably 16th-century building aligned east-west facing north. Timber-framed and plastered in the 17th century, it was partly rebuilt in brick in the 18th or 19th century. It stands 2 storeys with a jettied first floor on scrolled plaster brackets and a 3-window front with moulded plaster architraves; the entrance is at the rear. Exposed framing in the north and east walls shows close studding with middle rail and long curved tension braces to the ground storey and short curved braces to the first floor. Inside are 2 unequal ground floor rooms: the smaller eastern room has a spine beam with wide chamfers; the larger western room has boxed and plastered spine and cross beams with wide joists. The south wall contains an early 19th-century cast iron kitchen fire grate with fluted frieze.

The main house dates to the early 18th century. Built of rendered brick with plain tile roof and brick ridge stacks, it forms an L-shaped plan enclosing the west side of the courtyard and part of the north side. The west elevation is 2 storeys with moulded eaves cornice and features a 2:4:2 window front articulated by giant fluted pilasters reflecting internal proportions; windows are 12-pane glazing bar sashes with moulded architraves. An early 19th-century three-bay extension wing extends to the right. The left (north) return comprises 3 further bays with pilasters, then a 2-bay entrance block set back left, with central 6-panel door under a bracketed hood, approached by concrete steps.

Internally, the entrance block contains a single hall. The landing of the principal staircase opens from the north doorway; flights ascend to the first floor of the west range and to a blocked doorway in the east wall, while short flights descend to the hall floor. The staircase has an open string with shaped tread ends, ramped handrails, square panelled foot newel and panelled dado. Most balusters have been removed, but survivors alternate between column-on-vase and barley sugar twist types. To each side of the landing stands a giant fluted column of square section. The hall features large raised and fielded wall panels to the lower part, plastered walls above with coved and moulded cornice, and a large stone fireplace with bolection moulded surround in the south wall. Two doors in the east wall are now blocked, as is a blocked first floor door; these indicate the 18th-century house extended further east.

A first floor gallery extends along the west side of the hall, carried on an arcade of 3 round arches with raised keys and fluted pilasters between. Behind the arcade, a passage gives access to the principal rooms of the west range. Each of the 4 ground floor rooms in the west range has a polished marble fireplace with bolection moulded surround. The large central room is flanked by smaller rooms, each with 19th-century plaster cornices featuring modillions alternating with rosettes and a lower band of egg-and-dart. The southern flanking room has a pair of round-headed arches in the east wall, each with a plaster shell vault.

Middleton Hall was formerly contained by a moat, parts of which survive to the east and north-west.