Coledale Hall

Coledale Hall is a house and stable range, dating from 1810, originally built for Henry Fawcett (a Member of Parliament for Carlisle). In 1846, internal alterations were undertaken for George Mould (a railway contractor) by Mr Withnal. The building is constructed of Flemish bond brickwork with light headers on a chamfered calciferous sandstone plinth, with painted stone dressings, raised V-jointed quoins, and a cornice topped by a solid parapet. It has a graduated greenslate roof with coped gables and original brick chimney stacks. The building comprises two storeys, with three bays, a single-storey, single-bay set-back extension to the right, and a lower left single-bay link wall containing a carriage archway, connected to a two-storey stable range, now No. 96. The central panelled door is accessed via a prostyle Ionic porch, and there are sash windows with glazing bars in brick reveals on stone sills. The right-hand gabled extension has a 20th-century door within a gabled wooden porch with shaped bargeboards. The rear elevation is more impressive, featuring a central panelled door with side lights and a patterned elliptical overlight. Flanking bowed bay windows with glazing bars are set within stone surrounds, and upper-floor sash windows have glazing bars in stone architraves.

The interior is particularly fine, with a hallway featuring fluted Ionic columns and a cantilever stone staircase (dating from 1846) with patterned wrought-iron balusters and a moulded wooden handrail. The house includes panelled doors, some in panelled reveals and within moulded wooden architraves. Hallways and principal ground-floor rooms boast elaborate moulded plaster ceilings, modillioned cornices, roundels, and radiating sectional panels, along with black and white marble fireplaces, one of which features carved details. Internal panelled shutters are present on each window. A notable feature is an alcove with a segmental arch supported by console brackets. The name “Coledale Hall” derives from Richard Coledale, a merchant who resided there during the reign of Henry VI, although the property had previously been known as Harrington Houses. Historical records, including the Carlisle Journal of 1810, document the laying of the foundation stone and the 1846 internal alterations. The house functioned as St Mary's Home for Friendless Girls in 1926 and is currently a Health Authority Office. The left link wall and stable range, now No. 96, are included in the listing to preserve the carriage archway, which is contemporary with the facade of Coledale Hall.