Churchstoke Hall

Churchstoke Hall

This house dates to around 1640, though it may have developed from an earlier structure of 1591 similar in plan. Excluding the modern wing added in 1948, the building comprises two storeys with an attic and cellar, arranged on a lobby entry plan. It is constructed of timber framing and masonry under a slate roof, with two brick chimney stacks.

The main entrance is set in the west elevation opposite the ridge stack. The house is divided internally into a parlour bay to the south and two bays separated by a corridor to the north, with a gable stack at the north end in the kitchen. The staircase is located to the rear of the ridge stack in a projecting outshut, which also provides access to the cellar.

The two chimney stacks appear to date from the earlier 1591 phase and are built in flat red bricks with triple, star-shaped shafts. The original entrance was probably in the same position as the present entrance, opposite the south stack. The parlour bay to the south may have been added around 1640, though possibly on the site of a pre-existing unit.

The south end is close-studded with brick nogging in the lower storey. The upper storey is jettied, and the framing may have been replaced. Its low row of panels contains diagonal bracing producing a criss-cross design, with diamond-shaped panels lining the verges of the gable. The earlier bays to the north consist of substantial random masonry in the lower storey, with framing similar to the south bay in the upper storey but decorated with black and white paint. An early undated photograph shows that the first storey originally contained box framing decorated with cusping, which is thought to survive below the present plaster facing. The rear elevation is of random rubble masonry, while the north end is box-framed with brick nogging.

The west doorway and its frame are said to have come from the Church and date to the 17th century. The door is planked with metal studs, and the heavy door frame has a small cornice supported by consoles. Windows throughout are either tripartite casements or single lights with diamond quarries, some with cast iron glazing bars. Rear windows are modern replacements, and there is a panelled back door. The outshut has small-pane casements, and the cellar window is set beneath a segmental brick arch.

Internally, the parlour at the south end contains substantial, deeply chamfered spine and cross beams, with subsidiary joists deeply chamfered with cut stops. Dragon beams support the south jetty. The fireplace has a panelled overmantle with intricately carved panels featuring an arcade-type design, said to be a loan from the Earl of Powis dating from around 1800. A panelled partition separates the staircase from the corridor to the rear of the chimney stack. The central bay has two spine beams with deep chamfers and ogee stops. The kitchen contains deeply chamfered spine beams with cut stops and plain subsidiary joists, together with a bake oven to the rear of the fireplace.

The 1948 wing is in vernacular revival style, with a lower storey of masonry and light timbering with plaster to the upper storey, an axial ridge stack, and an entrance porch on the south side.