Dennis Hall

Dennis Hall is a country house built in the 1770s for the industrialist Thomas Hill. Constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond with ashlar dressings, it features a hipped slate roof and comprises three storeys with a basement.

EXTERIOR

The building is encircled by a stone band at the level of first floor window sills, with another band at sill level to the central three bays on the west front.

The western entrance front displays seven bays arranged symmetrically. The central three bays project slightly and are crowned by a triangular pediment. A semi-circular porch at ground floor level has a flat roof supported by four Tuscan pillars with pilaster responds to the wall. The panelled door is flanked by 12-pane sash windows. At first floor level, the central window has an aedicular surround with pilasters and a miniature pediment. At second floor level, the central window surround is lugged with a prominent keystone. All other windows on this front and around the building have segmental stone heads with projecting fluted keystones. Apart from the wider central windows on the west front, windows at ground and first floor levels have 12 panes, while second floor windows have six panes. A cornice frames the top of the wall and pediment, with a stone blocking course above.

The north front has four original bays at right, matching the entrance front format. A truncated chimney projects from the first floor between the first and second bays from the right, dating from when the building was used as a factory. To the left, two further bays and a two-storey range were added in the 21st century. The left-hand bay has a canted bay window extending the full height of the house.

The east side has a two-storey added section to the right with a projecting canted bay to its centre. To the left, the original walling has three bays of sash windows matching the north and west fronts.

The south front has six bays of the same type with a single canted bay at ground floor of 21st-century date, set in patched walling. The roof and covering have been renewed and roof lights inserted.

INTERIOR

The building suffered considerable vandalism and arson attacks during the 1990s, and the plan and surviving details were altered during its conversion to 19 flats. Casts were made of the cornice in the entrance hall and subsequently reconstructed. This room features a moulded dado and door surrounds with frieze and projecting cornice. The entablature has roundels containing alternating lion head and flower motifs in the frieze, above which the cornice is dentilled with paterae. To the rear of the hall, a screen of two wooden columns and an open-well staircase were inserted in the 21st century. Other interior spaces appear to have been rebuilt in the early 21st century.