Gatehouse and Curtain Walls at Rushall Hall

The remains of a medieval curtain wall and gatehouse stand at Rushall Hall, dating from around 1300 for the curtain walls and the 16th century for the gatehouse, which incorporates a 14th-century gateway. Further alterations occurred around 1600 with the addition of a second floor and window changes. Parts of the complex were demolished in the 1830s and 40s.

The gatehouse is constructed of limestone rubble with sandstone dressings and brick flues. It is one storey in height, although lower walls of a former first floor survive, with part of the south wall remaining above the level of a second floor. The west wall has a batter and a string course above a chamfered gateway with a segmental arch. Above the arch is a blocked window opening, below which is a carved shield bearing the arms of the Harpur family, who owned Rushall Hall between 1430 and 1540. The east wall has a gateway chamfered in two orders, with a segmental arch and hood.

Inside the gatehouse passageway is a rubble barrel vault. A circular stair leads to the first floor in the north-east corner. A chamfered fireplace with a shallow segmental head is in the south wall. At the upper level, the south wall contains two moulded fireplaces, which likely served the first and second floors. A garderobe is present in the north-west corner.

The curtain walls are built of limestone rubble, enclosing a rectangular garden area of 5383 square metres. They stand over six metres high and are mostly crenellated. These walls are incorporated into Rushall New Hall to the northwest of the site. Several chamfered fireplaces, seemingly serving buildings now demolished within the enclosure, are built into the walls; visible on either side of the gatehouse and one in the south wall, with canted hoods and some brick dressings.

The gatehouse is described and illustrated in detail in Baker, NJ, “The Gatehouse of Rushall Hall, Staffs”, South Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society Transactions, Vol XXIII, 1981-2, pp 79- 88. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.