Grassington Hall

Grassington Hall

A house of late 13th to early 14th-century origin with 17th-century rebuilds and mid-to-late 19th-century and circa 1980 restorations. The earliest work was probably commissioned by Robert de Plumpton, the 17th-century work by George Lister and the Topham family.

The building is constructed of coursed squared gritstone and rubble with a graduated stone slate roof. It has an irregular plan of two storeys with attic, comprising a medieval north-east range of three by two bays with 17th-century additions to the south-west. Quoins mark the corners throughout.

The principal south-east-facing façade shows significant architectural detail. Bays 1 and 3 project slightly. Bay 1 is a two-storey porch with a chamfered pointed two-stone arch with quoined jambs and an inserted two-light chamfered mullion window above. The pitched roof has 19th-century bulbous kneelers and gable copings with ball finial to the left. Bay 2 features a tall five-light recessed hollow-chamfered mullion window with hoodmould to the ground floor. The first floor has two two-light cross windows with plate tracery heads pierced by a quatrefoil, and a 19th-century niche to the gable. Bay 3 has a four-light recessed hollow-chamfered mullion window to the ground floor with a narrow chamfered window to its right. A similar four-light window appears to the first floor with a smaller three-light window to the gable. This bay has 19th-century bulbous kneelers and gable copings with ball finials, and a tall ashlar stack sits between bays 2 and 3. The stonework of this façade is significant in showing variation: the ground-floor squared gritstone in bay 2 is replaced by rubble walling at first-floor sill level, while bay 3 shows predominantly rubble walling with a section of squared stone between the ground and first-floor windows.

The north-west façade displays the two gabled central bays of importance. The left-hand gable marks the end of the medieval block and has an inserted three-light window to the ground floor and a medieval paired lancet window with single stone chamfered head to the first floor; the gable was rebuilt above first-floor window lintel level. The narrower right-hand staircase bay has a restored two-light recessed mullion window and overlies the more massive gable end of the south-west range. Lower 20th-century extensions to left and right are not of special architectural interest.

The south-west façade displays a doorway and refenestration of 1870 in Tudor style. The right-hand projecting porch bay has a first-floor corbelled chimney to the left return with an ashlar stack.

The north-east façade has a 17th-century projecting stair block and chimney stack to the left overlying a medieval buttress. Two restored mullioned windows sit below the eaves to the right. A 20th-century porch and single-storey projecting bay are not of special interest.

Interior: The north-east range ground floor retains a chamfered pointed arch with masons' marks from the original medieval block, positioned opposite the present entrance door on the south-west. A large 17th-century fireplace with incised voussoirs to the lintel was reduced in width during the 18th century and is served by the external stack on the north-east wall. An oven occupies the wall thickness to the left, and a cupboard recess sits under the stairs to the right. A stone newel-type staircase provides access to the partitioned first-floor room, which has a restored fireplace served by the external stack and features the lancet window at the north-west gable end.

The south-west range interior has a 19th-century entrance that opens into a passage leading to the medieval doorway. To the right is a large sitting room lit by the five-light south-east window. The staircase to the left of the entrance passage is 19th-century work with a medieval-style stone arch, probably replacing a 17th-century original.

Historical Background: By 1190, Nigel de Plumpton held the Manor of Grassington from the Percy family. His descendant Robert was granted a market and fair at Grassington in 1282 and was building a chapel at another of his manors (Nesfield) around 1280. He was probably responsible for the first-floor hall block here. The entrance arch to the undercroft survives, together with the probable position of the doorway to the first floor, now reached by the main staircase, and a buttress. The first floor was lit by the paired lancet window in the north-west gable; windows on other walls were destroyed or removed to the south-east wall of the 17th-century extension.

In 1604, George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, then Lord of the Manor, offered all Grassington tenants the opportunity to buy the freehold of their property. George Lister, tenant of the Hall, purchased it. From this date, the hall was extended south-westwards and a gabled 17th-century façade was created on the south-east, looking towards the village. A large kitchen fireplace and stone service stair were built in the undercroft.

George Lister was a patron of the living of Kettlewell Church and died circa 1632. He sold the hall to Thomas Topham, priest of Linton Church, who died in 1651. The house remained in the Topham family for most of the 17th century.

The building possibly underwent decline during the 18th and 19th centuries but was drastically refurbished around 1870 by the Duke of Devonshire's estate to serve as a house and offices for his lead agent. It was entirely reroofed and a new staircase installed on the site of the main 17th-century stair. First-floor rooms were partitioned during the 18th and 19th centuries.

After another period of decline, the present owners undertook a comprehensive restoration in 1980.