Dole Bank Farmhouse

Dole Bank Farmhouse is a house dated 1670 with alterations from the 18th century. It has a rendered exterior and a Westmorland slate roof. The building is two storeys high and consists of three bays, with a slightly recessed 19th-century bay added to the left. The central entrance features a 20th-century glazed door framed by long and short jamb stones, topped with a lintel that has an elaborate carved relief of a central flower motif and flanking scrolls. The windows on either side of the door are 8-pane sashes set in stone architraves. On the first floor, there is a central round-arched sash window with glazing bars, and 4-pane sashes to the left and right. The house has stone gutter brackets and stone stacks located at the far left and to the right of the centre.

On the right return, there is a first-floor sash window in a stone architrave, above which is a datestone carved with a cross and a saltire cross. At the rear, a two-storey wing projects to the right, featuring recessed mullion windows with hoodmoulds. Above the doorway of this wing is a limestone plaque displaying a coat of arms with crosses similar to those on the datestone, along with a sheaf of corn above the helmet.

Originally known as Dall Bank, Dole Bank was established around 1230 when William de Dall set up a chantry chapel in his courtyard, although it likely did not survive into the 16th century. A Hearth Tax return from around 1670 indicates that the house was occupied by Thomas Berney and had seven hearths, making it one of the largest houses in the area. At that time, Mary Ward was attempting to establish a convent at Dole Bank, but her efforts were thwarted by the prosecutions of local Catholic gentry for treason in 1678 following the 'Popish Plot'. The house continues to be a site of pilgrimage.