Garden wall with stone talbots at Dorothy House Hospice (formerly Winsley House)

A stone wall dated 1637/1657 built for Winsley House with three limestone talbot statues, altered and repaired in the C20.

Description: the section of wall is approximately 120m long and c2m high. It is built in random stone rubble with dressed stone to the later curved sections at the main entrance along Bradford Road, and with flat stone copings throughout. The entrance is marked by two stone talbot statues set on a flat stone base on top of the coping. Another talbot statue is set above a flat-arched, stone ashlar doorway further north along Bradford Road, which has a planked timber doorway with decorative cast-iron strap hinges. Above the doorway is a small date stone, inscribed with '1637' or '1657' (the third number only partly legible). The statues, despite the stone being slightly weathered, are clearly defined and depict the talbots with curly fur and tails resting on their backs. They sit in an upright position and have a studded collar around the neck with a chain attached. During the recent restoration of the statues, historic red paint traces were found in the mouth of one of the talbots.