Leckhampton Court With Wall And Gate Piers

Leckhampton Court with Wall and Gate Piers

Manor house, now a hospice. The building originated in the 14th century as the home of the Giffard family, was extended in the 16th and 18th centuries, partly rebuilt in the late 19th century by R. A. Prothero, and underwent extensive restoration between 1977 and 1981. The structures are constructed of ashlar and coursed squared and dressed limestone with close-studded timber framing, stone slate roofing, and ashlar and brick stacks, some dating to the 20th century.

The buildings are arranged to form a three-sided courtyard with a wall enclosing the fourth side. The complex is two storeys with an attic storey.

The 14th-century east range features a projecting central porch. The porch itself is a gabled two-storey structure with diagonal buttresses, its central entrance reached via a flight of segmental steps (relocated from the courtyard entrance) and set within a moulded Tudor-arched surround with a moulded hood with square stops. The door is part-glazed and dates to the 20th century. A 17th to early 18th-century stone-mullioned cross window with lugged architrave has been inserted at first floor level, with a small blocked splayed window to the right-hand return. A battlemented parapet with string acts as a hood over the cross-mullioned window, with a scratch sundial above the dripmould. The battlemented parapet continues along the eaves of the 14th-century range.

Corridors flank either side of the porch. The corridor to the left appears to date to the 19th century and is lit by three-light stone-mullioned windows with transoms. The corridor to the right appears to be 20th-century and is lit by two-light stone-mullioned windows with Tudor-arched surrounds. A projecting porch with a double part-glazed door sits at the far right. Both corridors have battlemented parapets.

The 16th-century range at the rear features an early studded plank door within a moulded four-centred arched surround, with the date "15/82" carved in the spandrels and initials "I/B" flanking a fleur-de-lys above the door. This door is entered at first floor level from a terrace.

A buttressed 16th-century range extends forward from the right end of the 14th-century range. It displays close-studded timber framing with passing braces to the first floor on the courtyard side. Two 20th-century plank doors occupy the ground floor—one with a flat-chamfered surround and one within a Tudor-arched surround—alongside one blocked doorway. Three tall Tudor-arched cross-mullioned windows, probably 19th-century, span both floors with roll-moulded mullions. Two, three, and four-light windows have been created by removal of the rendered infill between the studding. The buttressed gable end features a two-light stone-mullioned casement with a moulded hood within a blocked doorway, and a three-light casement with round-headed lights and hollow-chamfered mullions. The rear is lit by 20th-century casements and sashes.

A late 18th-century range runs at right angles to this gable end. A 19th-century range extends forward from the left end of the 14th-century range, lit by stone-mullioned casements with four-centred arched heads. The most striking features of this range are the two-storey flat-roofed canted bay windows. At the gable end stands a buttressed 16th-century range, featuring an early studded plank door within a partly moulded Tudor-arched surround with carved spandrels and a moulded hood with diamond stops, opening into the courtyard. Two three-light stone-mullioned windows with Tudor-arched heads occupy the first floor, each with hoods with diamond stops. Two 20th-century two-light roof dormers sit above. A blocked doorway in the gable end has a restored three-light hollow-chamfered stone-mullioned casement inserted within; similar casements sit above. A small reused 15th-century carved angel holding a shield is positioned between the floors. A two-light double-chamfered stone-mullioned casement lights the attic.

The rear wall is distinguished by a five-light canted oriel window, a 19th-century studded plank door within a hollow-chamfered Tudor-arched surround with a hood with diamond stops, and a projecting stack with one octagonal and one twisted rubbed brick stack. The stepped gable end coping features roll-cross saddles. The roof includes axial, off-the-ridge, and projecting lateral stacks.

An ashlar wall approximately 2 metres in height encloses the courtyard on the west side, with a pair of gate piers off-centre left, finished with moulded cappings and ball finials.

Interior

The west side of the former hall (now concealed by the 19th-century corridor) retains 14th-century cross-mullioned windows with quatrefoils. The roof of the timber-framed range preserves some windbracing and a single arch-braced roof truss, although the roof was largely reconstructed in the 20th century. The stone-built 16th-century range contains a Tudor-arched fireplace with a slightly projecting lintel. The 19th-century range houses two ornate fireplaces: one is 17th-century in style, decorated with strapwork, "S"-curve dragon motifs, and the initials "J.H" (John Hargreaves); the other features eclectic decoration and fluted columns.

Historical Context

The house passed by marriage from the Giffard family to the Norwood family, several members of whom are commemorated in the nearby Church of St Peter. Following the death of the last Norwood at the end of the 18th century, the manor passed to the Trye family of Hardwicke. From circa 1879 the house was occupied by John Hargreaves, who constructed the 19th-century range to accommodate visits from Edward VII, who as Prince of Wales was a regular visitor.