Manor House

Manor house, built around 1740 for the Seventh Earl of Westmorland, with extensions added in 1895. The house is constructed of squared coursed limestone with an ashlar facade, and has a Collyweston slate roof. It follows a double-depth plan and is designed in the Palladian style. The house is two storeys high, with an attic. The main front has three bays, topped by a large pediment that defines the gable end of the range. The central bay projects slightly. The central entrance has a six-panel door with glazed toplights, set within a moulded stone surround and cornice. Flanking this are six-paned sash windows with plain ashlar surrounds. The window frame to the left of the entrance is from the 18th century and retains some original glass. Above the entrance is a decorative element consisting of three blank panels topped by a broken pediment. The central first-floor sash window has a moulded stone architrave and is situated within the pediment. The bays on either side have sash windows on both the ground and first floors, with broad, unmoulded architraves; the ground floor windows have round heads enclosing blind tympana. All sash windows are six-paned, apart from the ground floor window on the right, which is a 19th-century two-paned sash window. A raised band links the cills of all the ground floor windows. A moulded cornice runs along the head of the first-floor windows and also defines the main gable pediment. The central attic window has a segmental head. The pediment at the apex of the gable is also defined by a moulded cornice. A large ashlar stack sits at the apex. A late 19th-century single-storey, one-bay extension projects to the right, and has no windows on this elevation. The elevation of the extension to the right has sash windows and a door, all with ashlar surrounds. The side and rear elevations of the main range have cross casements under wood lintels and flat stone arches. The centre bay of the rear elevation projects slightly. A late 19th-century extension is also present at the rear. Internally, the house features spine beams with run-out stops and a large open fireplace in the kitchen, which is now blocked. The Seventh Earl of Westmorland, whose principal residence was Apethorpe Hall, held the manor of Woodnewton in the mid-18th century. It is believed the Manor House may have been used as a dower house, as there is only one principal bedroom leading from the main staircase.