Fyling Old Hall And Garden Walls To East

Fyling Old Hall and Garden Walls to East

A house of medieval origin, largely reconstructed in 1629 by Sir Hugh Cholmley. The east front was refaced and most windows altered in the early 19th century when the building was adapted to farm use. The stone is now pebbledashed except for the plinth, which has chamfered coping on the north, south and west faces. The roof is laid with synthetic tiles and finished with stone copings, kneelers and stacks. The building is 2½ storeys tall with 3 bays internally, though this is disguised by early 19th century remodelling. A small, square tower-like structure is linked to the south-west corner.

The south (entrance) front features one wide gabled bay facing the road. A recessed doorway with glazed door is positioned to the left. An old double-chamfered doorway on the right now holds a window. On the first floor sits a 4-light ovolo-moulded mullioned and transomed window, with a second-floor fireplace projection above it and an oculus painted in trompe l'oeil above that. The left return contains a projecting 1-bay tower linked at the corner, which is blank on the road front except for a chimney breast. The inner return shows an elliptical carriage arch with glazing and door inserted, with small windows on each floor above. Between the tower and main house, an extruded first-floor winder stair on a steep corbel leads to the attic storey, which has been reduced in height and converted to a granary when the Old Hall became a farmhouse. The tower has a pyramidal roof with ball finial and corner chimney. The left return of the tower has one ovolo-moulded and one chamfered first-floor single light, with other windows being modern.

The right return of the house is a remodelled garden front with one wide bay at the left and three bays arranged symmetrically at the right. A central door of two fancy panels with patterned overlight is set in a keyed raised surround with outer alternating block jambs, frieze and hoodmould on diamond stops. The ground floor has 16-pane sashes and the attic storey 8-pane sashes, all in flat keyed surrounds; those on the ground floor have ears and feet. Cill bands and alternating quoins run across this elevation. The gable has ridged copings and curved kneelers, with triple corniced stacks at the ends and on the ridge.

The north gable end shows a large 3-light ovolo-moulded, mullioned and transomed first-floor window, similar to that at the south end and indicating the superior status of the early 17th century first floor. This window is now blocked and painted in trompe l'oeil, with a blocked oculus above and a small 2-light chamfered mullioned window below. Flanking later 2-light windows are similarly painted in trompe l'oeil on the left. On both floors, hoodmoulds are raised in the centre.

The rear (west) elevation more clearly shows the 3-bay form, although it has early 19th century glazing-bar sashes on the upper floors and a few modern openings. An external stone stair leads to a glazed door at the right. Internal spaces have been altered and reduced by later partitions. Fireplaces from both periods remain: the older ones have flattened Tudor-arched openings, while the later ones have reeded jambs and frieze with angle paterae.

A wall encloses three sides of the garden to the east, probably dating to the early 19th century. It is built of coursed stone with sloped coping, rising high on the south side and sloping upward to a higher section near the house. Two gate piers with swept caps on the north side near the house support a wrought-iron gate. A boarded door under an extruded keyed lintel is set in the north wall. Small outbuildings behind the wall to the south-east are not of special interest.