Collinfield

Description

Farmhouse. Possibly mid/late C16; certainly built by early C17. Extensively remodelled by George Sedgwick (Secretary to Anne, Countess of Pembroke) after he acquired it in 1668. Later additions and alterations. Wet-dashed rubble. Graduated slate roofs with gabled, jettied, dormer to east elevation; rendered cylindrical mid and end chimneys. 2 storeys. Gabled porch to west (courtyard) elevation has initialled and dated inscription on stone panel (relocated from above inner, studded, battened door): NUNC MEA MOX HUIUS SED POSTEA NESCIO CUJUS I. & M.G. 1663. 4-bay east elevation of 2 builds: Right-hand section has 2 casements to each floor with 2-light, wood-mullioned, fire window to left and 3-light, stone mullioned, cellar window; left-hand section (late C18) has part glazed door in semicircular-headed surround and canted bay to left, 2 casements and a dormer above. Interior very well preserved; for details see R.C.H.M. Westmorland (1936), p.124. (Listed Building Report)

Collinfield, house, 1,000 yards S.W. of the church, is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are slate-covered. The S. part of the house was built early in the 17th century; it was acquired in 1668 by George Sedgwick (Secretary of Anne Countess of Pembroke), who added the N. half of the building. The W. wing was extended in the 18th century. The house retains a late 17th-century stone window lighting the cellar and a second window of the same date with a solid wooden frame. There are several chimney-stacks with cylindrical shafts. The porch has a round-headed outer archway and above it a stone tablet inscribed "Nunc mea mox huius sed postea nescio cujus" with the date and initials 1663 I. and M.G. The battened door has a wooden lock with the initials A.P. (for Anne Countess of Pembroke). Inside the building, some of the ceiling-beams are exposed. The N. room has a panelled partition with an enriched frieze and there is similar panelling over the fireplace-recess; on the window reveals are two plaster fleurs-de-lis; the small cupboard (Plate 36), by the fireplace, has the initials and date G.S. 1674. In the adjoining office is a cupboard fixture (Plate 36), with turned balusters and carved frieze; it bears the initials and date G.S. 1675. The S. room has a modelled plaster panel over the fireplace with a foliage-border, two arches and various enrichments with the date 1674; a small cupboard has a panelled door. The kitchen has a plaster frieze with scrolls of fruit and foliage. On the first floor, at the top of the stairs is a 17th-century balustrade (Plate 57) of flat pierced balusters with a dog-gate of similar balusters. There are some panelled partitions and doors of the same date. The S. room has a plaster cornice and frieze with scrolled foliage and fruit; over the fireplace is a plaster panel with foliage and a shield bearing a scutcheon over a fesse. The room over the kitchen has a plaster panel over the fireplace with two arches and flowers. (RCHME 1936)

Fortified hall and courtyard. 'Three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth side being enclosed by a strong wall and gate, secured the inhabitants from attack.' Plan and photograph. (PastScape ref. Perriam and Robinson)

Comments

The courtyard wall is not particularly high or strong and the gate is a simple 'hole' in that wall. At the bottom end of what might be called 'fortified'.