The Old Hall

The Old Hall is a detached house, now converted into flats, with a complex history spanning the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The main block dates from circa 1694, with later refronting and rebuilding in the late 20th century. A north-east wing incorporates a 16th-century range originally known as Arundel House, heavily altered and refronted in the late 18th century. A mid-19th-century extension now forms number 1 South Grove.

The main block is constructed of brown brick with red brick dressings, topped by a tiled double-pitched roof. It has three storeys and a basement, and a double-fronted façade with five windows, and a slightly recessed single-window extension to the left. A projecting entrance bay features an early 19th-century porch with fluted Doric columns supporting an entablature. The doorway has a fluted surround, a fanlight, and a panelled door. Flush-framed sash windows are set within gauged red brick flat arches with exposed boxing. A plain brick band runs along the first floor, and a moulded brick cornice sits below the parapet. The rear elevation has segmental-arched flush-framed sashes with exposed boxing and a bowed projection spanning the ground and first floors, featuring three windows and a balustraded parapet.

The interior is not fully inspected, but retains an original staircase, some original panelling, and later panelling. Certain rooms have relocated interiors: a ground-floor room contains elements from a 1595 house on South Quay, Yarmouth, and a first-floor room incorporates a largely Jacobean interior from Castleton Manor, Rochdale, both installed by Lord Rochdale around 1922. A basement features a 17th-century ceiling beam and cornice.

The north-east wing is two storeys high, with five windows, brown brick construction, and a hipped roof. It has segmental-arched recessed sashes. The south-west extension is a two-storey gabled structure in brown brick with red brick dressings, and carries gauged brick cambered arches to recessed sashes.

Historically, Sir William Cornwallis acquired what became Arundel House in 1588, and it was later owned by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Arundel. The house was the location of Francis Bacon’s death in 1626.