The Grange

The Grange is a house, now nursing home, located in Backwell Church Town. The main structure dates from the late 15th century, with significant rebuilding and alteration undertaken in the early 17th century, around 1730, and in the early 20th century when the north-west end was recast, reportedly by Sir George Oatley.

The building is constructed of red sandstone rubble with limestone dressings, limestone ashlar being used for the north-west extension. It features axial ridge stacks and a south-east gable stack, with a double Roman tile roof hipped over the north-west section. The building is two storeys with attic accommodation. It has a three-window north-west end, six-window north-east side, and four-window south-west side.

The architectural plan evolved over time. The original late 15th-century section was single-depth with two bays, which was later doubled in depth to the north-east and extended to the south-east, with the former outer wall forming the side of an axial corridor. A cross range dating to the 17th century was built across the north-west end, with two gabled ranges extending to the north-east and another to the south-west.

The main front, facing north-west, was recast in the early 20th century and features raised stepped corners and a central feature. An ashlar full-width extension has a crenellated parapet and a raised central porch with a two-centre doorway. There are four-light Tudor-arched windows with labels either side of the porch, along with mid-20th-century first-floor and attic windows. The right-hand return is of rubble with large irregular quoins of early date rising to the height of the rafter feet, with an early 20th-century three-light window to the front and a right-hand Tudor-arched door. The south-west side is set back from the front section, with a mid-20th-century ground-floor extension and single first-floor casement. A coped rubble gable projects from the south end with inserted 20th-century windows. In the re-entrant at the right-hand end stands a flat-roofed single-storey block with a vaulted internal roof.

The north-east elevation displays a central 17th-century rubble gable with a three-light ground-floor 20th-century casement and a small right-hand first-floor window with chamfered surround. A central inserted 20th-century window features a wide relieving arch, and an attic oculus with pointed keys. To the left is a 20th-century flat-roofed section and at the left-hand end a rendered gable with a late 20th-century extension to the ground floor. To the right of the central gable is a one-window section with a hipped roof, and at the right-hand end the rendered side of the north-west cross wing.

The interior has a complicated layout with important features from different periods. The entrance lobby contains a blocked late 15th-century shouldered doorway with chamfered surround. The axial corridor follows the line of the earlier external wall and contains a two-light ovolo-moulded window on the north-east side. A central, possibly 20th-century, winder stair rises from the passage to the central attic, which contains two collar trusses with late 15th-century notched lap joints.

The ground-floor north-west living room contains a fine early 17th-century fireplace with pilaster jambs decorated with lozenges and a Tudor arch. Large floor beams with wide chamfers and diamond stops are accompanied by scratch-moulded joists set into the top surface. A fine circa 1730 stair inserted to the left of the fireplace features fluted column-on-vase balusters, fluted column newels and moulded rail, with raised fielded panelling under the dado extending round the first-floor landing and connected to an early 17th-century chamfered door surround with moulded stops. The flat-roofed section on the south corner has a shallow segmental-arched vault.

Historically, the earliest part of the house dates from the late 15th century and appears to consist of an L-shaped unit. This was apparently rebuilt or extended in the early 17th century to the north-west end, although the thick walls and large quoins of this cross range lie outside the line of the earlier walls. The good-quality early 18th-century stair was inserted to the left of the fireplace, as was the fireplace itself, a fixture of considerable quality showing little sign of wear. The shallow vault is another element whose origin remains unclear. The house contains internal details from three distinct periods, including a fireplace and stair of considerable quality, and is of great interest, particularly given its proximity to the church.