The College

The College is a large house, formerly the College of Vicars, with a complex history spanning the late 15th century to the 19th century. Initially a late 15th-century tower house, it was extended in 1523 for Thomas Lord Dacre, evidenced by his coat of arms now located over an internal door and a repositioned panel above a hall fireplace. Further alterations occurred around 1633-1641 for Sir Timothy Fetherstonhaugh, followed by additions dated 1696, bearing the initials T.F.(&)B.F. (Timothy & Bridget Fetherstonhaugh) over the entrance, and subsequent additions in 1838-1843, also by Timothy Fetherstonhaugh.

The construction largely utilizes dressed and rubble red sandstone walls, with ashlar quoins to the facade. A graduated hipped sandstone slate roof is topped with ashlar ridge chimney stacks to the front, and 19th-century candlestick chimney stacks to the rear. The principal facade, spanning nine bays, is characterized by a recessed central five bays flanked by projecting bays. The central entrance features double six-panel doors within a moulded architrave, surmounted by a console bracketed cornice, a swan-neck pediment, an inscription, and a Fetherstonhaugh coat of arms. Replacement sash windows with glazing bars are set within moulded stone architraves, with ground floor windows having moulded cornices and upper floor central bays incorporating pulvinated friezes.

The rear elevation showcases a 15th-century tower house, originally four storeys high, with canted bay windows reaching three storeys, featuring replacement sash windows with glazing bars. A left-center tower, probably of the 16th century and 3½ storeys high, has a ground floor two-light mullioned window, a high round-headed attic opening, and sash windows with glazing bars on other floors. An extension to the right, dating to 1842, is one-and-a-half storeys high and has mullioned casement windows with hood moulds to the ground floor, alongside gabled dormer windows below the eaves. A 19th-century extension to the left, originally single-storey, was later raised to two storeys with sash windows, glazing bars, and hood moulds.

Internally, a mid-17th-century wooden-panelled room exists alongside other mid-17th-century woodwork. A 1696 staircase is centrally located within the tower, and a 1696 wood and plaster ceiling, adorned with heraldic devices, graces the hall. Originally the Vicarage for Kirkoswald Church, it was converted to a College of Vicars around 1523. The lands reverted to the Crown in 1548 and were let to various tenants before being purchased by Henry Fetherstonhaugh in 1590, remaining in the family’s ownership continuously since that time. The building exhibits stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops.