Castle Dykes

Castle Dykes is a house, likely dating from the early 18th century, with extensions added in the early 19th century and restoration work carried out in 1990. The entrance front is constructed of orange-red brick in an irregular bond, with lower courses on the Castlegate front facing refaced in faceted bricks, and upper courses in a Flemish bond pattern. The roof is tiled with pantiles, hipped to the Castlegate side, and incorporates brick stacks. The building is L-shaped.

The main entrance front has two storeys and three windows, with a two-storey, single-window wing projecting from the left end. A front door, featuring six raised-and-fielded panels bordered with fluting and two glazed lights, is located towards the right end. A second door, with six fielded panels, is situated at the left end. The windows include a nine-pane sash and a twelve-pane sash on the ground floor, with similar windows above. The wing has a three-by-six-pane sliding sash window on each floor, and another in the gable wall, within an enlarged opening. The Castlegate front comprises two storeys with one eight-pane sash window on each floor, all with painted stone sills and wedge lintels.

The interior features a straight, closed-string staircase with column newels, grooved stick balusters, and a moulded handrail, ramped up at the head. A room to the right contains a reeded cornice and shutters of fielded panels in fluted borders. A plain round arch leads to a back hall, and a plank and batten door leads to another area. On the first floor, a plain round arch is at the head of the stairs. Early 19th century cast-iron firegrates, set within plain surrounds and incorporating mantelshelves, are still present in all three rooms of the main range. An early 18th century eight-panel door provides access from the end of the landing passage to the wing. During renovations, a gypsum plaster floor was reportedly removed from rooms within the wing. Doors throughout the house are of fielded panelling with fluted borders.