Walkern Hall

Walkern Hall is a country house built in the 18th century, with the north wing possibly constructed around 1810 by George Smith for J. Gosling. The south wing and northeast service wing were added between 1827 and 1830 by J. Pemberton for J. Izzard, a brewer from Baldock. The interior features work from the late 19th century. The building is made of stucco on brick, designed to resemble ashlar, with a Portland stone-faced plinth and a suppressed slate roof.

This substantial, three-storey, double-pile house has a five-window facade facing west. The two-storey wings, which are two windows wide and slightly lower, feature corner pilasters and a bold frieze and cornice matching the main block. A Greek Doric porch with paired columns and a full entablature has been glazed. Each wing has a large semi-octagonal bay window on the ground floor, with tall sash windows set in round-headed recesses. A band at the sill level of the first-floor windows continues around the bay of each wing. The recessed sash windows have 6/6 panes, while the top floor windows have 3/3 panes.

The rear facade also has three storeys and five windows, but the left half has been altered for a later stair. The south wing extends to the rear and has its main facade facing south. The north end features a single-storey projection with three round-arched openings of two recessed orders: a central door, a smaller door with a radial fanlight on the left, and a sash window with radial glazing on the right.

The long, two-storey service wing is constructed of grey brick with gauged flat arches and unusual three-light horizontally sliding windows. It has a hipped slate roof with plastered eaves soffit. Walkern Hall is set in ornamental grounds with a ha-ha to the west, located in the medieval hunting park of Walkern manor. It was known as Clay Hall before the 20th century.