Hesleyside Hall

Hesleyside Hall is a country house with a complex history, dating back to 1719, with significant alterations made in 1796 by William Newton and again in the mid-19th century. The structure is built of ashlar with Lakeland slate roofs, arranged around a courtyard.

The south front, dating from 1719, originally comprised nine bays, with two bays added later in the same style by William Newton. A doorway, initially an archway leading to the courtyard, is centrally placed and features a moulded segmental arch with a keystone, surrounded by fluted Tuscan pilasters and a cornice. Segment-headed windows are topped with keystones, and a band runs above the first floor. Giant pilasters are positioned at the corners and after the seventh bay, topped by a moulded cornice and parapet with four heraldic beasts. To the left of the main front is a lower section from the late 18th century, featuring two sash windows followed by blank walling with pilasters, a cornice, and a parapet.

The east front, seven bays wide, has a doorway framed by Ionic pilasters, a frieze, and a cornice. All windows are set within an entablature, except for the top-floor windows, which have architraves. Above the doorway is a pediment, and a slightly projecting three-bay section has rusticated quoins. Rusticated quoins also mark the corners, and a plain parapet tops the facade.

On the entrance side, a square open porch, originally from the west front and repositioned in the mid-19th century, features Ionic columns with Adam-style capitals. To the left of the porch is a niche with an urn, and a panel above displays a lion rampant. To the right, a three-bay screen to the courtyard includes a central arch with a rusticated surround, and above it stands a two-stage clock tower. The lower stage houses a clock face, while the upper open stage, likely from the late 19th century, has round-arched openings, heavy banded angle pilasters, and an Italianate pyramidal roof.

The east range has been extensively altered in the mid-19th century, and now has irregular window placement, including several Venetian windows. Remnants of an early 17th-century loggia arcade with heavily rusticated arches can be seen in the courtyard wall. The roofs are hipped, and tall stone ridge stacks are present.

The interior includes a notable hall with an imperial staircase distinguished by elaborate cast-iron balusters. The hall also boasts an Adam-style plaster ceiling, Ionic columns, and pilasters – work executed by Ignatius Bonomi in 1812. The dining room holds stucco and painted decoration from 1847.