Silkstone Hall, formerly The Croft, including gateways

Silkstone Hall, formerly The Croft

This house was built in 1902 by architect Edgar Wood for Henry Silkstone Hopwood. It is constructed of local squared sandstone in variable colours and coursing, with pantile roofs and leaded casement windows featuring rectangular quarries.

The building is arranged on a compact plan around a central staircase that rises from an entry hall accessed from the east. The house comprises three storeys including attics. The main ridgeline runs approximately north-south, with a wing projecting from near the centre of the west side and a smaller wing projecting from the southern end of the east side. A small single-storey service range projects from the north gable, with a modern, well-matched porch added to its east. All elevations are asymmetric.

Windows are generally mullioned with square-faced monolithic mullions that, along with sills and lintels, are set flush with the wall face; the surrounds are formed by margins of fine dressing to the walling stone. Projecting bay windows generally have white-painted timber mullions and flat lead-covered roofs. Gables are raised and stone-coped, with simple stone block kneelers.

The east elevation faces the road. The gable end of the projecting wing is itself asymmetric, with a lower eaves line on the north side from which a square chimney stack rises. The ground floor has a canted bay window serving the dining room with 1-4-1 lights, above which is a 4-light mullioned window to the first floor and a 3-light window to the attic floor. On the north return to the wing are small single-light windows to both ground and first floors. The eaves line of the main range is lower to the left (north) of the projecting wing than to the south. On the north side are a 3-light window and a smaller single-light fire window, both serving the kitchen. On the south side is a 3-light canted bay window abutting the side of the projecting wing. The first floors to either side of the projecting wing are blind.

On the south elevation, a five-flue gable stack rises from immediately to the west of the ridgeline. Extending to the east of the ridgeline is a two-storey canted bay of 1-3-1 lights with a 3-light attic window above. Set centrally on the west side of the ridgeline is a 2-light ground floor window and a 4-light first floor window. The south side of the eastwards-projecting wing is flush with the south elevation and has a 2-light window to the ground floor, being blind on the first floor.

The west elevation is the entrance front. The main entrance is a simply-treated doorway set off-centre with a small single-light window to its right (north) lighting a lobby, and two windows to the left lighting the central entrance hall and a cloakroom. Above is a 3-light window to the first floor with a second window to the left set slightly higher. The wing projecting from the south end of the elevation is blind except for a single 3-light window to the first floor which is offset to the left. Piercing the northern end of the main roof slope are a twin-flue chimney stack and a small gable-roofed bellcote complete with bell. Two small modern roof windows are not of special interest.

The north elevation is dominated by the small single-storey double-ridged service range extending from the western half of the ground floor; its eastern part is a well-matched modern addition forming a rear entrance porch. To the east of this is a 4-light window. To the first floor are three windows (two 2-light and a 4-light). One of these windows was formerly a doorway reached via an external spiral staircase but has been sympathetically restored into a window. The attic floor has a 3-light window with only the central light glazed, the flanking lights being blocked, thought to be the original arrangement. Above this is a very small square loft window.

Interior

There has been some minor reconfiguration of rooms internally, mainly to provide bathrooms, the most major being the enlargement of the kitchen by incorporating the north-eastern ground floor reception room. Most doors are modern replacements, but these are generally set in original, very distinctive architraves which feature simple projecting cornices forming shelves above the doors. The newel posts to the staircase are also distinctive, although the original balustrade has been mostly lost except at attic level, where it consists of a panel with a shaped handrail.

The entrance hall contains two internal leaded windows providing borrowed light for the stairs and a small closet. The staircase incorporates a small cupboard thought to be an original feature. Elsewhere about the house are other small built-in cupboards thought to have been part of the original design.

The dining room (ground floor, central, west) retains a round-arched brick fireplace similar to one known to have been designed by Wood, but this is now concealed behind a fireplace installed circa 2014. The drawing room (ground floor, south-west) retains a brick fireplace featuring an opening with a two-centred pointed arch and a timber mantle shelf similar in style to the cornices forming part of the door architraves.

The northern first floor bedroom, thought to have originally been an artist's studio, retains what appears to be a vernacular-style fireplace complete with wrought iron crane, set into the east wall. However, its flue shows no sign of soot and rises to form the bellcote, the chain for the bell passing through the hearth of the fireplace to the ground floor. The surround to the fireplace is made up of different types of stone, with jambs appearing to be reused wall coping stones and the lintel being a gritstone monolith flanked by sandstone cornices forming small shelves. To the left is a wall cupboard incorporating a reused round-headed oak door set in a pine frame. It is thought that this room's real fireplace was set in the south wall. The ceiling to the room has exposed beams.

Entrance Gates

The driveway is closed by a pair of Art Nouveau-style wrought iron gates set between stone wing walls, with gate piers also having wrought iron finials. To the north-west is a pedestrian access with similarly-styled ironwork arranged as a kissing gate.