The Hall

The Hall is a mansion built in 1784 by Sir John Soane, located in Shotesham Park on Mill Lane. It is constructed of gault brick with stone dressings and features a slate roof. The building has a square main block with lower service wings and courtyards to the north. It stands two storeys high, with an attic storey and cellars.

The south facade has seven bays, with a slightly advanced frontispiece of five bays. The central three bays are further advanced and topped with a pediment above the attic storey. The rhythm of the bays is defined as (a,b,c,b,c,b,a), featuring broad Ionic pilasters that support a plain stone frieze and a modillion cornice. The ground floor of bays 'b' includes Venetian windows with stone architraves and semicircular inner pediments, enclosed by two orders of rubbed brick voussoirs. Bays 'c' contain semicircular niches with rubbed brick semidomes, while bays 'a' have no windows. The upper windows are sashes with glazing bars beneath skewback arches, and there is a parapet.

The west facade also has seven bays of sash windows, with basement windows visible and the centre five bays recessed. The modillion cornice continues along this side. The east facade has five bays, with the centre three bays recessed and featuring an engaged Ionic portico supported by four columns. Flanking windows have semicircular heads within containing arches.

Inside, the entrance hall from the south boasts a fine plaster ceiling that is oval in shape, adorned with a guilloche border, cusped fan spandrels, and a rose. The main stair features cantilevered moulded stone treads and iron balusters with a simple floral motif set within lozenges. The stair hall is illuminated by a large Venetian window with a glazed outer arch. The interior showcases high-quality plasterwork, including some early 18th-century carved marble chimney-pieces, likely from Wricklemarsh.