Ouse Bank House

Ouse Bank House is a house dating back to approximately 1689, with a mid-to-late 19th-century extension and 20th-century additions and alterations. It is constructed of red brick with blue headers in a Flemish bond pattern, topped with a plain tile roof and brick stacks. The original section comprises a four-bay facade, articulated by giant brick pilasters with moulded brick capitals and a dentil cornice. A rebuilt parapet tops the front. The main entrance features a handsome eared doorcase supported by cut modillion brackets, sheltering a six-fielded and panelled door with a five-lobed fanlight above, set within an egg and dart moulded arch. The windows are twelve-paned sashes with heavy glazing bars and original crown glass, the boxes projecting slightly from the brickwork. These openings have flat brick arches and moulded sills, the ground-floor sills having been replaced. Lead hoppers and downpipes are present. Dormer windows are set behind the parapet. A large brick stack, rendered at its base and rising as three close-spaced square stacks, is on the north gable end. A circa 1940 square bay window with a soldier-coped parapet and flat roof has been added, featuring a large 20-pane sash window. The building was extended to the north by three bays in the mid-to-late 19th century, using more prominent blue headers, but otherwise maintaining the same detailing. Blocked cellar openings are also present. The north return elevation has three round-headed openings on the ground floor, the centre being a doorway; above is an external chimneybreast with curved shoulders. Two lead hoppers are located here. The rear elevation features large nine-pane sash windows with slender glazing bars to the upper floors and three-pane windows to the attic level. The rear elevation returns by one bay on the south side, meeting a later building. The ground floor interior has been altered. The first-floor room at the north end of the 17th-century section retains original bolection moulded panelling, a moulded cornice, chair rail, and a moulded fireplace with an overmantle landscape oil painting housed within. A steward's office has a lesser-moulded cornice and a good moulded doorcase with a swept pediment. A large ground-floor room in the later section includes a lateral fireplace with a moulded surround and a mirrored overmantle. Historically, the house was described as a "capital mansion house” and passed through various owners, including Walter Beaty, a key figure in the local lace industry. It served as a County Branch Library after the Second World War until the 1960s.