Scale House

Scale House is a house dating from the late 17th to early 18th century, probably built for the Swire family. It was substantially altered and extended in 1866 for Henry Blake and again in the early 20th century for John Sanderson.

The building is constructed of coursed grey gritstone and ashlar with a graduated stone slate roof. The original structure is a 2-storey, 5-bay block with a mansard roof, flanked by three added 3-storey turrets on the south and west sides. A 2-storey, 3-bay service and stair range occupies the west side, with an additional 2-storey 19th-century service wing extending northwards from its north end.

The south front preserves the original 5-bay composition with cross-windows to ground and upper floors, though the central entrance has been converted to a window. Ground-floor windows have architraves with moulded cornices, while the upper windows display more elaborate detailing with projecting keystones carried up through a projecting band. A cornice and blocking course run across the façade. The flanking turrets feature narrow transomed windows on each floor, a corniced band at second-floor level continuing the eaves line of the original house, and deeply-moulded eaves with balustraded parapets and ball finials.

The rear elevation shows a projecting central ashlar gabled porch with fine detailing. The doorway has an eared architrave, with a moulded shallow projection continued upwards as an apron below the first-floor cross-window, which is also in an eared architrave. A moulded projection above the window carries a continuation of the apron panel, pierced by a blocked moulded oeil-de-boeuf window. Moulded kneelers with a ball finial flank the left of the gable, with moulded coping to the apex. The body of the house to the left of the porch is of rubble with a 3-light mullion and transom window and two cross-windows above, all in moulded surrounds. To the right of the porch the wall is rendered and pierced by a large 12-light stair window. A projecting 19th-century service wing extends to the left.

The left return (west side) contains the principal entrance façade added in the 19th century, fronted by an early 20th-century single-storey portico with Tuscan columns in antis. Double doors with an overlight are flanked by narrow 2-light windows. An oval window in a scrolled architrave occupies the first-floor centre, flanked by narrow windows. A moulded eaves cornice and parapet with vase balusters frame a central detail of circular opening in scrolled surround, flanked and surmounted by obelisk finials. Slightly projecting flanking turrets echo the south front.

The right return (east side) comprises a 3-bay range with a central 4-panel door in plain stone surround and a large cross-window lighting the stairs above. Smaller cross-windows appear to the ground and first floors on the left, and to the first floor on the right, with a 3-light mullion and transom window to the ground floor right. A short ashlar stack stands at the eaves to the left of the entrance.

The interior originally featured a direct-entry plan with a corridor behind the two south-facing rooms. The ground floor was substantially altered in the 19th century to create a lobby and large staircase hall inside the west entrance front. The original kitchen fireplace survives in the north-east room, segmental-arched with a cyma-moulded chamfer, built with a doorway to the right leading to a rear stair hall in the east range. This staircase is notable, comprising three flights with balusters of late 17th-century cup and vase form. Doors throughout are 4-panel type. The first floor was not examined in detail.

The roof structure comprises a mansard roof composed of two parallel sets of trusses: four to the south roof and three to the north. These are possibly reused crucks with feet set onto the wall tops and an apex finished with either a high collar carrying a short king post clasped by the tops of the principals, or principals halved together. The ridge is square set with two tiers of purlins. The large roof void was probably originally lit from the gable ends, now obscured by the added east and west ranges.