DALSTON HALL NY 376515

Dalston Hall is a fortified house, now a hotel, dating to the mid to late 15th century. A dedication inscription below the parapet reads "JOHN DALLSTON ELSABET MI WYF MAD YS BYLDYNG." A west wing was added in approximately 1556 for Sir John Dalston, with a central block constructed around 1620. Later 17th-century alterations were followed by further extensions dated 1899 on the lead rainwater heads, designed by C.J. Ferguson for E.W. Stead. The building is constructed from large blocks of red and calciferous sandstone, with flat lead roofs on the towers and graduated greenslate roofs on the wings. Ashlar chimney stacks are also present.

The main features include a three-storey 15th-century tower to the right and a four-storey 16th-century tower to the left, linked by a 16th-century wing with an early 17th-century two-storey projecting entrance bay, flanked by late 19th-century wings and a 19th-century extension to the rear. The earlier tower has extremely thick walls, a chamfered plinth with string courses, and a battlemented parapet. An angle stair turret projects above the parapet, displaying four 15th-century carved shields depicting the arms of the Kirkbride and Dalston families. Windows are predominantly stone mullioned, with two-light windows in moulded surrounds under hood moulds, and a first-floor three-light window with rounded heads within a round arch.

Internally, the building contains a stone-vaulted basement, now used as a library. A newel staircase rises through all three floors to the roof. The ground-floor inner iron gate is of 15th-century origin. A bedroom above includes a mural recess, formerly a fireplace, now adapted as a bathroom. The wing to the left has a plank door within a roll-moulded architrave, and stone mullioned windows with roll-moulded architraves. A roll-moulded cornice incorporates cannon-like water spouts. A battlemented tower to the left again features similar two- and three-light windows. A side wall to the right has a corbelled-out semicircular stair turret extending from the first floor to the roof. 19th-century extensions replicate earlier architectural detailing with stone mullioned windows. A 20th-century extension to the extreme right is not of note. The interior of the 16th-century wing was extensively altered by C.J. Ferguson in an Arts and Crafts style, including a banqueting hall inglenook with a pewter firehood dated 1900, bearing the initials E.W.S. A ground-floor room on the extreme left has a fireplace adorned with William de Morgan tiles.