Yanwath Hall

Yanwath Hall is a fortified tower and hall dating from the early or mid 15th century, with alterations made in the 16th and 17th centuries. The walls are constructed from large blocks of squared pink sandstone. The tower stands on a chamfered plinth with a string course, a battlemented parapet, and projecting water spouts. The hall and kitchen range have steeply-pitched roofs covered with red sandstone slate, featuring large and small red sandstone chimney stacks; the tower has a flat roof hidden behind its parapet.

The building consists of a low, two-storey, five-bay hall range and a three-storey rectangular tower positioned to the left. A studded plank door, set within a 16th-century segmental-arched doorway, is located within a 20th-century wood trellis porch. To the left of the entrance is the hall, displaying 15th-century windows including a two-light cusped-headed window and a projecting bay with similar windows on two levels, all protected by iron grilles. A small, chamfered-surround window is situated to the extreme left, beneath a 16th-century three-light double-chamfered stone-mullioned window with a hoodmould. Above the entrance is a blocked 15th-century window opening, previously misidentified as a straight joint by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (Westmorland, 1936), which has been replaced by a 17th-century three-light mullioned-and-transomed window. A similar window is situated to the right, above a flue door and a 20th-century casement. Two two-light stone-mullioned windows, each under a hoodmould, are present on both floors to the right, with a small shaped opening, identified as a gun loop, at the extreme right in the position of a firewindow.

The tower has a small, chamfered-surround window on the ground floor, set beneath a five-light mullioned-and-transomed window, and a double-chamfered window on the second floor. An upper-floor garderobe loop is also present. Turrets are located at each corner of the tower. Other walls of the tower feature similar windows, with the exception of a 14th-century ogee-headed window, which may be a reused element.

The rear of the hall range features an off-centre early tracery-panelled door within a moulded round-arched doorway under a hoodmould. To the right is a 15th-century two-light cusped-headed window in a double-chamfered surround, flanked by stepped buttresses. An extreme right 16th-century round-headed door provides access to the tower’s internal entrance; above it is a two-light stone-mullioned window. To the left is a small chamfered-surround window and a cross-vent stone. The upper floor has a mullioned-and-transomed window with round-headed lights. Above the entrance is a blocked small ogee-headed opening, a chamfered-surround opening, and a two-light window.

The interior of the hall includes 15th and 16th-century segmental-arched stone fireplaces and 16th-century stone doorways. The hall features a 15th-century timber roof with trusses, along with drawbar tunnels to most exterior doors. A wall-mounted 16th-century painted clock face is also found within. The tower’s basement is barrel-vaulted, with a spiral stone staircase and garderobe chambers located above. The tower contains 16th-century decorative plaster ceilings and the Royal Arms of Elizabeth I.