Gorcott Hall

Gorcott Hall is a country house of considerable architectural quality located on Gorcott Hill near Studley in Birmingham. The building displays a complex development spanning from the 15th century through to the 20th century, with evidence of multiple phases of construction and alteration.

The house is built to a double-ended hall house plan, though part of the right wing is missing. The central range consists of dark red English bond brick with diapering of dark blue headers and dates from around 1540 to 1550, though the building has 15th-century origins. The wings are timber framed, featuring close studding, square framing and ornamental panelling with lath and plaster and brick infill. The roofs are of old tile with brick stacks. The building stands two storeys and an attic with a four-window range across its principal front.

The central range features a two-storey gabled porch on the right side, containing a chamfered painted stone four-centred arch. The entrance doorway inside is an eight-panelled door with moulded ribs, possibly dating to the 16th century, fitted with strap hinges and set within a square reveal with wood lintel. The first floor contains a stone chamfered mullioned window of three arched lights with alternate blocked surround and a timber framed gable with chamfered bressumer.

The left wing is the lower cross wing, displaying close studding with fowled posts and lath and plaster infill, underbuilt in 18th-century English bond red brick. Its fenestration includes a five-light window with a three-light window above, beneath a shallow wood and tile hood. The wall plates feature brackets. The right wing is set back and partly underbuilt in 20th-century brick with 20th-century casements. The first floor has exposed framing with brick infill and a three-light casement. A complex half-hipped roof covers the structure, with a 20th-century single-storey timber framed lean-to attached.

The left return side displays a timber framed bay window on the right with close studding above, and carries a large external stack of thin bricks. The loft contains close studding with lath and plaster infill on the ground floor, and square framing with brick infill above. Some square framing and a three-light dormer occupy the centre. The right return side of the main range shows some close studding and a timber framed gable with a three-light casement. The return side of the wing has a wide external stack of thin bricks with three renewed diagonally-set square shafts.

To the rear, two adjacent gabled wings stand on the right. The right wing dates to the 16th century and displays some close studding on the ground floor with a cellar entrance. The left wing and upper floors feature smaller framing with irregular fenestration. The central brick range has a doorway in a high, wide square reveal with wood lintel, containing a four-centred six-panelled moulded door with chamfered wood surround. The first floor has two tiny staircase lights and a single stone four-centred light. A timber framed gable with casement and internal stack stands to the right. The left wing contains casements. A single-storey 19th-century brick wing has been altered in the 20th century.

Interior arrangements include a hall with stop-chamfered cross beams and wall beams, and a timber framed screens passage of thin square framing, possibly dating to the 18th century. An open fireplace of 17th-century date is accompanied by double-leaf six-panelled doors and two-panelled doors. The drawing room to the left contains an open fireplace with cambered chamfered beam, and Late 17th-century panelling with large moulded panels. A small room has similar panelling. The kitchen features a twelve-panelled door with moulded panels and an open fireplace with moulded bressumer. Winder stairs with an octagonal newel post provide access to the first floor.

On the first floor, a room formerly forming the top part of the hall displays a shallow pitched timbered ceiling with chamfered central rib and joists. A 16th-century moulded and chamfered fireplace has stone jambs and wood lintel, accompanied by double-leaf six-panelled doors. A bedroom retains exposed queen post and queen strut trusses. One closet contains a fine carved 17th-century panel brought in from elsewhere. Other rooms display exposed framing throughout.

Gorcott Hall is a house of unusual quality and interest for its size, forming part of a larger group that includes south-east and south-west gatepiers, garden walls, a stable, granary, attached barn and animal house.