Throwley Old Hall Remains

Throwley Old Hall Remains

Remains of a large house dating to the early 16th century with later alterations and additions. The building is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings, and features an ashlar lateral external stack. The structure originally had a rectangular plan aligned north-east to south-west, with a roughly square projecting tower attached to the north-east corner. Former buildings once stood to the north-east and north-west, though little remains of these.

The south-east front comprises the main house to the left (2 storeys with a gable-lit attic) and a 3-storey tower to the right, spanning roughly 4 bays in total. The main house is marked by a large full-height breach on the left side, in front of which are the foundations of a square porch—probably the principal entrance. A central projecting chimney stack is visible. The right-hand bay is recessed and contains 16th-century windows: the ground-floor window has 2 ogee arch lights while the first-floor window has 3 Tudor arch lights, both featuring sunken spandrels and deeply chamfered surrounds. The tower, partly obscured by vegetation at the time of resurvey in July 1985, shows remains of a second-floor window with Tudor arch lights and sunken spandrels.

The left-hand return of the tower contains a Tudor arch doorway to the left, with 3-light windows featuring Tudor arch lights and sunken spandrels on the ground floor to the right, and at first and second floor level to the centre. A moulded first-floor band and parapet band are visible. An attached recessed wall to the right bears a window of 3 Tudor arch lights with sunken spandrels.

The north-west front displays 3 blocked Tudor arch doorways—one to the right of centre and 2 to the left of centre. Traces of bonding from former projecting walls are visible, with a horizontal line above suggesting these walls were formerly covered by a lean-to roof.

The south-west gable preserves window jambs on each side of a full-height breach at ground and first-floor levels.

The north-east gable shows the main house to the right and the tower to the left. The main house features a central ground-floor doorway with square head and chamfered surround. A 17th-century 3-light mullioned window on the ground floor right has a rebated and double ogee-moulded surround and mullions. Central 16th-century 4-light windows at first-floor level display Tudor arch lights, sunken spandrels, and deeply chamfered surrounds. A single-light attic window is centrally positioned. Three bands above eaves level contain rows of square holes over each.

The tower is linked to the main house by a narrow recess containing a ground-floor Tudor arch loop. A square buttress to the right-hand corner is surmounted by an octagonal turret with moulded parapet band and a small loop to the right, complete with rebated surround and returned hood mould. A 2-storey breach lies to the left of the buttress, with a second-storey window above featuring 2 Tudor arch lights and sunken spandrels. Set back to the left of the tower is the inside face of a wall containing the 3-light window mentioned in the south-east front description. A Tudor arch door appears on the first-floor level of the left-hand return of the buttress.

Interior features in the main house include a south-east wall with a roughly central 16th-century ground-floor fireplace that was remodelled and reduced in size during the 17th century. The original fireplace had a chamfered surround and panelled spandrels; in the 17th century, ogee-moulded jambs were inserted with moulding continued around the now-fragmentary lintel. A massive first-floor fireplace above features a Tudor arch head, panelled spandrels, and double ogee-moulded surround. A 17th-century first-floor doorway to the left (with ovolo-moulded surround) formerly led to the first floor of the south-east tower but was later blocked. A blocked ground-floor doorway to the left once led from the south-east tower. An inserted chimney stack in the south-east corner contains 2 seventeenth-century fireplaces: the ground-floor fireplace has a shouldered lintel and hollow chamfered surround, while the first-floor fireplace has a very shallow Tudor arch.

The south-east tower incorporates a square garderobe turret originally accessed from ground and first-floor level of the main house by doors that were blocked upon insertion of the south-east corner chimney stack. The south-west wall of the tower was built against the blocked doorway leading into the main house. The north-west corner of the tower contains a 17th-century second-floor fireplace with 3-centred head and panelled spandrels, to the right of which a doorway leads into the octagonal turret.

The site is littered with fragments of moulded stonework. Throwley Old Hall was formerly the home of the Meverell family and is scheduled as an ancient monument.