Cark Hall North Cottage South Cottage

Cark Hall North Cottage and South Cottage, originally a single house, date back to around 1580, with alterations in the 17th century. The building is constructed of roughcast stone with a slate roof and is located in Lower Holker, near Cark-in-Cartmel. It is now divided into three separate dwellings.

The main house is two storeys with an attic, originally consisting of four bays. A three-storey, four-bay wing projects to the left. The first and fourth bays originally projected forward under gables, with the first bay partially covered by the wing, and the fourth bay being narrower. The building features single-chamfered-mullioned windows with label moulds; the ground-floor windows are generally of four lights, though the window in the third bay is now two lights, and the fourth bay has a cross-mullioned window. The first floor windows are similar, but the window in the first bay is cut by the projecting wing, leaving two lights visible. The attic has windows with a 3:3:2-light arrangement, the central window being within a gabled dormer. A stair light is located on the return of the first bay. The central entrance is defined by a doorcase with Ionic columns, an entablature, a projecting open semi-circular pediment displaying an armorial bearing (Rawlinson quartering Curwen and Monk), and a twelve-panel door. A central axial stack rises with a round shaft. The inner return of the wing mirrors the design, featuring two-light windows, mostly with leaded glazing, and some with small-paned glazing. A gable end has a large projecting stack with a round shaft. The right return features a large 20th-century single-storey lean-to outshut. The first floor has windows with 4:3:2-light arrangements, with some mullions missing, and the end gables contain three- and two-light windows.

The rear of the building shows first, second, and third projecting gabled bays. The first bay has a two-light attic window above the roofless shell of a gabled outbuilding, a gable-end stack, and a four-light window to both the ground and first floors. The second bay exhibits a three-light stair window with a high transom and a three-light attic window, both with dripstones. The third bay incorporates a lean-to outshut with a two-light window and an entrance with an architrave. The fourth bay has a projecting gable-end stack with a rounded shaft, three-light windows, and a two-light attic window. The left return has five bays, with the third, fourth, and fifth bays projecting to form the three-storey wing. Ground floor windows are 4:2:3:4-light, the first floor has 4:2:3:2:2-light, and the second floor has a two-light window. A large gabled porch provides entrances to two of the cottages, one with chamfered reveals and wide-boarded doors. A large projecting lateral stack with set-offs is present in the second bay, and the third bay has a gable-end stack.

The interior features ovolo beams, Tudor-arched fireplaces, stud and plaster walls, a staircase with turned balusters, square newels with ball finials, moulded handrails and strings, and a spiral stair, partially constructed of stone and partially of timber. There's also a ceiling with a plaster cornice. A first-floor panelled room includes a corner closet and a fireplace overmantel, likely of the same period.