Brackenhill Tower

Brackenhill Tower is a house dated 1586, built for the Graham family to replace an earlier tower. An extension, inscribed with the initials R.G. and J.G., dates to 1717, and further extensions were added in 1860 for the Standish family. The tower is constructed from large blocks of red sandstone rubble and features a chamfered plinth, a string course, a corbelled battlemented parapet, and projecting rainwater spouts. It has a gabled slate roof within the parapet and end stone chimney stacks.

The 18th-century brick extension has a graduated green slate roof and a brick chimney stack, while the 19th-century extension is made of dressed red sandstone with raised quoins, a corbelled battlemented parapet, a flat roof, and a stone chimney stack. The tower is designed in the Scottish baronial style and consists of two storeys and a basement, with a two-storey 1860 extension to the right and a two-storey, three-bay 1717 extension at right angles.

The tower features a battlemented porch from 1860 with a side entrance and the coat of arms of the Standish family above it. The first floor has an enlarged window in a roll moulded architrave with a wrought iron grille, along with one enlarged window above and two smaller original windows. The ground floor side entrance to the tower has a studded plank door set in a moulded wooden architrave. The rear wall contains a blocked first-floor doorway.

Inside, there is a vaulted ground floor chamber, and a newel stair provides access to the upper storeys. The brick extension has a plank door in a chamfered surround and a blocked similar entrance to the right, along with two-light stone mullioned windows. The 1860 extension features a present entrance at the rear, with a studded plank door in a roll moulded architrave and a large staircase window above. The left blank wall has a projecting chimney breast, and the end wall features a canted bay window.