Gayles Hall

Description

Fortified house, now farmhouse divided into two and outbuildings. with attached garden wall. Probably C16, with early C17, early C18 and later alterations. Some work for the Wycliffe family. Rubble with ashlar dressings, stone slate roofs. 2 storeys, irregular H plan, the 2 south-east wings probably once of 3 storeys. South-east elevation, with 2 cross wings: 1:3:1 first-floor windows. Quoins to wings. Between second and third first-floor windows of spine: centrally-hinged door of 6 fielded panels in ashlar architrave with bases, plain frieze and cornice; C20 casement window in former door opening on ground floor to left, and to right of present door the relieving arch of another opening. Sash windows with glazing bars in ashlar keyed architraves with moulded sills, and with scars or part- surrounds of mullion windows, those in wings with relieving arches of rubble voussoirs above. One window on each floor of wings, and one on ground floor of spine to left. Gables of wings have ashlar coping. Fluted lead rainwater heads at angles of wings with spine. Chimneys at outer and inner sides of wings. Right return of left (west) wing: on ground floor, part surround of mullion window; on first floor, blocked 3-light mullion window. Left return of right (east) wing: on ground floor, C20 6-panel door in C20 chamfered ashlar surround and to its left a C20 9-pane unequally hung sash window in C20 ashlar surround, both below an old relieving arch; on first floor part of a mullion window. Rear: spine: on ground floor, 6-pane sash window with part of a larger moulded sill and part of an C18 architrave used as a lintel; to its right a blocked single-light window; on the first floor, a stepped external stack supported on 4 ovolo corbels and fluted lead rainwater heads in angles. Left (east) wing: quoins, and quoins two-thirds of way along indicating width of wing before C18 staircase added; central part-glazed door in C19 ashlar surround with cornice, and relieving arch above; on first floor, sash window as before; to right, in extension, round-arched staircase window with thick glazing bars in surround with moulded sill and architrave to arch resting on imposts and with tripartite keystone; to the right return, a small ground-floor casement window and a first-floor blocked mullion window. Right (west) wing has board door in ogee-moulded chamfered quoined ashlar surround below relieving arch, large ridge stack, and to left (inner) return parts of mullion windows. Right return: ground floor, from left: 2-light chamfered mullion window below relieving arch; tripartite window with ashlar surround, the central light a sash with glazing bars, the outer lights fixed, below segmental relieving arch; blocked mullion window below relieving arch. First floor: in centre, part surround of mullion window; sash window with glazing bars on moulded sill; towards the left end, an eaves stack. Left return: chamfered ashlar doorway and mullion windows. Running approximately 8 metres north-east from north- east corner of rear right (east) wing, rubble garden wall with ashlar coping, swept down to north-east, and with basket-arched quoined chamfered ashlar doorway at west end. Interior: reeded coving to cornices in ground- floor rooms of east wing; doors and linings of 6 fieldedpanels; added to north end of east wing, early C18 oak dogleg staircase with turned balusters with gadroon on vase, wreathed handrail and panelled dado; in eastern room of spine, early C17 decorated plaster ceiling, originally part of a larger room divided up by thick beams into 9 panels with circular motif in centre panel, with fretwork, guilloche and flower motifs, each panel richly corniced. From 1563 to 1821 Gayles Hall was the seat of the Wycliffe family. (Listed Building Report)