Old Thornville

Old Thornville is a large country house dating from the mid-to-late 17th century and the 18th century. It is constructed of red brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with a stone slate roof. The house is arranged around a small inner courtyard and has two and three storeys to the south front, featuring six bays. The main entrance is a double door with eight panels, topped by a fanlight, within bay two. It is flanked by Tuscan columns that support a semi-circular hood. The ground floor and first-floor end bays have sash windows with glazing bars, set within flush wood architraves. Five six-pane sashes are located on the third storey. The window arches are constructed with gauged brick, and the windows have stone sills. A projecting first-floor band steps down to the left of the doorway, and another projecting band is located at eaves level, topped by a plain parapet with ashlar coping and eleven ball finials. End stacks are present, and the roof is hipped over the stairwell. The rear facade includes a projecting square-headed opening to the courtyard, featuring a blind window above. Flanking and upper-floor side-sliding sash windows are also present. To the right, a three-storey gable end is constructed of rusticated and gauged brick. Moulded bricks are used in string courses to the first and attic storeys, and blocked "oeil-de-boeuf" (bullseye) windows flank the ground- and first-floor windows. Coping is present at the Dutch gable, and these features extend around to the left end of the left return, which is two storeys with three bays. Inside, the main door opens into a hall containing an early 18th-century cantilevered staircase with a later domed roof. The drawing room features mid-18th-century panelling and carving, including enriched doorcases and cornices. The architectural features of the house, notably the gauged brickwork and Dutch gable, represent an early example of this style in Britain, comparable to the Dutch House at Kew (1631). The rusticated brickwork continued in use for a considerable period, similar to that found in the basement storey of Holkham Hall, Norfolk (1734-61).