Manor House Christian Rest Home

This former old people’s home is, in fact, a manor house dating to approximately 1720-1730 and built for George Pretyman (died 1732). The building is constructed of red brick with burnt headers, accentuated by a band at the first storey incorporating moulded keys above each window. It has plain tiled roofs with hipped, slightly projecting end bays. Added later, in the 19th century, are red brick chimneys and gabled dormers with sash windows. An eaves cornice features wooden modillions. A central brick pediment, with dentils rising to the apex, displays a coat of arms added in 1738, commemorating a marriage between a Pretyman and Arabella Shelton. The shield on the coat of arms includes the arms of Pretyman, Garneys, and Pistor, and is surrounded by a cartouche and a garland of fruit and flowers.

The house has two storeys and attics, with a five-window main range flanked by two-window wide wings, which project slightly. The tall, narrow windows have flat arches of finely gauged brick and painted keystones, featuring original flush frames with mid-19th century eight-light sash windows. The front door consists of eight fielded panels, within an architrave surround, with fluted Doric pilasters, console brackets, a broken cornice, and a segmental pedestal.

Inside, the house retains many fine original features, including a large, panelled staircase hall with concave, twisted balusters. Several rooms are fully panelled, and feature four overmantel paintings dating from 1720-1730 by T. Bardwell. One painting depicts the house itself, showcasing lower flanking pavilions, garden walls, and gateways, all of which have since been removed. Other paintings show Furness Abbey, a scene from Don Quixote, and Susannah and the Elders. Original pictorial tapestries are also present. Later rear ranges were added in the late 19th and late 20th centuries.