Sleddale Hall

Sleddale Hall is a shop and former pottery studio, originally a dwelling, dating to the 17th century. It incorporates earlier fabric and was altered in the mid to late 18th century. The building is constructed of rubble stone with ridge chimney stacks and a slate roof laid in diminishing courses.

The building has an L-shaped plan, with a rear range that creates a narrow yard accessible via a passage to the side.

The front elevation has two storeys and five bays. It features an open passage entrance on the right, and doorways in bays 2 and 3. Bay 1 has a multi-pane shop window, while bay 3 has a doorway with a 6-panel part-glazed door and a multi-pane display window to the right. A single ridge chimney is at the right-hand end. Five first-floor windows, mostly with 6-over-6 pane sash windows, are present. The rear range includes an entrance at the meeting point of the two ranges, an advanced bay, a recessed bay with paired windows, and a second advanced bay featuring an external stair leading to a galleried entrance landing.

The front range is divided into two cells. The cell to the right contains a substantial chamfered spine beam, a winder stair, a hearth with an imported surround, and 17th-century square panelling moved from an upper room. The hearth wall includes a spice cupboard. The rear range has back-to-back hearths in the current pottery workshop, and a further altered hearth in the end bay, with a damaged decorative plaster overmantle panel bearing the inscription F/I M/1666. Above is a large, undivided room or workshop, accessible by the external stair, with exposed cross-framed spine beams. The roof structure is supported by tie beam trusses with angle struts, the trusses appearing to be constructed from re-used cruck blades.

The building forms a range of shops and workshops, originating as a high-status house in the historic centre of Kendal. The plot reflects the town’s distinctive urban form, and the interior retains much original detail despite later adaptation and exterior remodelling.