Leighton Hall

Leighton Hall is a picturesque high-Gothic style house built in the mid-19th century. The building consists of a main range with a clock tower facing west, a short library wing to the south and a longer north wing. Behind the main range, and continuing parallel to the north wing, is an L-shaped service wing which incorporates the main stairway and forms two sides of a courtyard at the rear. The hall is full-height, whilst the wings are two-storey with attics. The building is of brick, but the main elevations are faced in coursed, rock-faced Cefn stone with ashlar dressings, coped gables and slate roofs. The stone chimney stacks have tall patterned flues.

The symmetrically-planned entrance front to the west comprises a three-bay central range flanked by the advanced gables of the north and library wings. The advanced central clock tower is three-storeyed and has panelled clasping buttresses leading to castellated turrets and a parapet of stepped battlements. The lower storey of the tower forms a porch, the doorway of which has a moulded pointed arch beneath a gabled canopy with fleur de lys finials and a shield-bearing lion in a quatrefoil below the gable. The first floor has two windows with Y-tracery, stilted arched hood moulds and a continuous sill band. The second floor has two two-light windows with cusped Y-tracery and a continuous frieze of saltire crosses at sill level. Beneath the parapet is a frieze of cusped chevrons. The side walls have windows similar to the front, except at ground floor which has two-light oriel windows in ashlar with Y-tracery.

Flanking the clock tower are shallow four-light bay windows to the ground floor in ashlar with blind tracery below the sills and a parapet with saltire crosses in the bay to the left and battlements to the right. Above are two-light mullioned windows with cusped heads and hood moulds, and a string course at sill level continuous with the clock tower and wings. The hall also has a parapet of saltire-cross panels, continuous with the frieze on the clock tower, with intermediate pinnacles above corbels (now broken off). The wings have gable stacks and plain moulded parapets with polygonal angle turrets on moulded corbels and with ball finials. In the upper storey both wings have two-light windows similar to those of the upper level of the hall. The north wing to the left has single cusped lancets under hood moulds to left and right in the lower storey; the library wing has blind arrow loops.

The shorter library front consists of a pair of gables advanced from the main axis of the wing. The gables have plain parapets with pendant finials and corbelled polygonal turrets above the eaves with ball finials. In the lower storey are two cross-windows to the right and a canted bay with similar windows to the left. In the upper storey are two two-light mullioned windows with foiled heads and a continuous sill band. The attics have similar one-light windows.

The north garden front is a six-window range (arranged 1-2-2-1) with a roof line stepped down in three stages, and has coped gables with stacks. The highest block to the right has an advanced gable with a full-height bow window. This is balanced by a second advanced gable to the left of centre. The bow window to the right has mullioned, trefoil-headed windows in each storey, between which is a blind arcade of similar arches; above the windows is a panelled parapet. In the gable above is a small transomed window. The gable to the left of centre has a shallow six-light mullioned and transomed bay window with embattled parapet. Above it are two two-light mullioned windows and a cross-window in the attic, all with hood moulds. The gables are linked by a continuous string course. Between them is a two-window range with two-light Decorated-style windows with hood moulds and foliage stops in the lower storey. In the upper storey the windows have cinquefoil heads and hood moulds with plain stops. Single-light dormers have coped gables with ball finials at the angles and spiked finials on the ridge, and stand on plain corbel tables below a parapet of saltire-cross panels. A single bay at the left end has a cross-window below a three-light castellated trefoil-headed oriel window.

The short east front is stepped in plan, with an advanced two-window range forming the cross-gable of the service wing to the left, a circular turret clasped in its angle with a single-window block (the end of the north wing corridor) and, recessed to the right, the gable return of the north wing. The gable end to the right has an external stack and a cross-window to the left in each storey. The single-window block has three-light mullioned and transomed windows in each storey and a parapet of saltire-cross panels. A panelled door is in the side wall. The two-window range to the left has a plainer parapet, cross-windows and a corbelled sham chimney stack centrally-placed at first floor level. Above it is a small roof dormer. The three-stage turret has cross-windows in the lower stages and a tall narrow round-headed window in the upper stage. The two-stage belfry has open arcading beneath a conical roof with weathervane. Attached to the left of the service wing is a wall enclosing the south-east courtyard. The courtyard elevations of the service wing are faced in brick and have sash windows under wedge lintels. Original rainwater goods survive, some of the hoppers of which are dated 1851.

The main range comprises the great hall, reached through the entrance porch in the base of the clock tower. The porch floor is laid with Minton tiles (designed by Pugin) and its walls are faced with linenfold panelling. It has a simple panelled ceiling. Doors to right and left lead to spiral stairs which have stained glass panels, and lead up to the clock tower and gallery in the hall. The doorway to the hall is under a Tudor arch and above it, in relief, is foliage with the word "WELCOME" in archaic script. The half-lit doors have Perpendicular-style tracery with stained glass, above linenfold panelling. In the second storey room of the tower is the clock cabinet, with clockface under a balcony facing the great hall: the clock was ordered from Wagner of Paris in 1855-6 and installed in the tower in 1858; it has an ornate oak case with ornamental bronze work by E. Vittoz.

The great hall is the showpiece of the interior. It has a hammer-beam roof, with lions on the ends of the beams, which stand on wall shafts with foliage and shield corbels. The underside of the roof is composed of a frieze of Welsh family shields below a ceiling of stained glass consisting primarily of foliage in quatrefoils. Suspended from the ceiling, by means of knotted "ropes" of iron, are three large cast iron chandeliers. These are composed of a large orb with pendant, and sprouting tendrils which form into the bodies of cherubs who hold further tendrils in their outstretched arms. Between each cherub is a bird or animal head in a shield on the central orb. A Tudor-style fireplace has a large overmantel with raking hood. The walls have linenfold panelling. There are galleries in each corner of the hall, and a larger one on the west side entered from the clock tower. All have wrought iron balustrading in Gothic style. To the west gallery is a pair of doorways formed of crocketed Tudor arches, flanked by empty statue niches. The upper west windows have stained glass which incorporates Naylor's monogram, heraldic devices, and in the margin lights Naylor's personal rebus (a nail with the letters "o" and "r").

From the hall there is the library on the south side, the service wing on the east side and a range of rooms in the north wing, parallel to which is a long corridor, which also gives access to the service wing. The doors to the main rooms have linenfold panelling in moulded surrounds with brattishing. The main rooms also have linenfold panelling around the walls.

From the hall, the first two rooms of the north wing have panelled ceilings with gilding and polychrome stencil painting of naturalistic foliage, on painted cornices of foliage trails and billets, decorated by Crace to Pugin's designs. Each room also has an opulent alabaster fireplace consisting of a Tudor arch below a quatrefoil frieze, above which is a large mirror flanked by compound shafts and with brattishing above. The windows in each room have shutters with linenfold panelling. A third room in the north wing, immediately beyond the previous two, has a plainer panelled ceiling (above a cornice of vine trails) which has gilded foliage bosses, and panels (some of which are lozenge-shaped) with stencilled foliage more stylised than in the other rooms.

The library has a panelled ceiling painted white (although the original stencil painting of naturalistic foliage is exposed in one small panel) above a cornice of foliage trails. It also has a large fireplace similar to those of the north wing, but in stone, which has a quatrefoil frieze incorporating Naylor's monogram and the heraldic device of dragons rampant.

The corridor of the north wing is laid with Minton tiles and contains the main open-well stair immediately behind the great hall. The stairwell is top-lit, having a stained glass octagon containing a variety of devices, including Naylor's monogram. The stair has a wreathed handrail, newels carved with foliage and rosettes, thick balusters, strings carved with foliage and a panelled dado.

The service wing includes an original strong room with cast iron door and safes. Most of the rooms have their original cupboards and there are also some large slate floor slabs.

On the first floor several rooms in the north wing have marble fireplaces. All the main rooms have doorways with embattled surrounds and doors with linenfold panelling, and linenfold panelling beneath the window sills. Within the roof are lead-lined troughs which collect water from the roofs, and which was then stored in a large cistern in the cellar. The cellars also have slate slab floors and ceilings, alcoves and compartments with slate shelves.