Salkeld Hall, Little Salkeld

Description

In this township is the site of an ancient castle, of the possessors of which, we find no record or memorial. Mr. Denton says that this place gave name to the ancient family of Salkeld, and that Mr. George Salkeld was obliged to part with the seat of his ancestors here for a trifling consideration, in the time of the civil war, to Colonel Cholmley, who built a large new house on the site. This house, after several alienations, became, (before the year 1688,) the property of Mr. Charles Smallwood; it was purchased of his descendant Timothy Smallwood, Esq., by Lieutenant-Colonel Lacy, the present proprietor. Colonel Lacy rebuilt the house about the year 1790, and has much improved the estate with plantations, &c. (Lysons 1816)

Late C16 incorporating earlier walls with C17 additions; c.1790 facade for the Lacy family; 1836 and 1870s additions. Coursed red sandstone rubble, the older parts with rebuilt flush quoins, the Georgian parts with V-jointed sandstone quoins and eaves cornice, on chamfered plinth. Graduated greenslate roofs with banded red sandstone chimney stacks. Georgian front 2 storeys, 5 bays with flanking single-storey, 2-bay wings. Behind the wings: at left the earliest part of the house, probably C14, 3 storeys, 2 bays at right-angles to front and with rear C18 single-bay extension. Behind the right wing is a right-angled part of the C16 extension of 3 storeys, 3 bays. Behind the front as part of its double span is the C16 house of 3 storeys, 4 bays. Facade has central doorway, with stone architrave under pediment.now holding a casement window with intersecting-glazing-bar head. Sash windows with glazing bars in raised sandstone surrounds. Similar windows in wings. Right round-headed C19 doorway on left return. Old wall large sandstone blocks with one small medieval window, otherwise double and single sashes with glazing bars. On right return C20 sliding glass French window. Older part of wall, with rebuilt quoins, has 2-light chamfered stone-mullioned windows under hoodmoulds, those on first floor transomed. Right ground-floor window a blocked doorway, and left window enlarged, but both in keeping with the other windows. Rear has right projecting late C18 pedimented extension with round-headed windows and Venetian end windows. Central projecting battlemented 2-storey C19 porch with panelled door. Most of the original 2- and 3-light stone-mullioned windows have been blocked but appear to be late C16; 2 small chamfered-surround windows of the same date on 2nd floor. Single and double sash windows, all with glazing bars. Right doorway within gabled stone porch. Interior was extensively altered in 1790s. Panelled doors and plaster ceilings with moulded cornices. Panelled shutters to each window. Internally divided into a number of holiday flats. (Listed Building Report)

Comments

Nothing about the Hall as it now stands gives a hint to its age or original form.
Perriam and Robinson 1998 write that Jackson equates this with Aikton Castle.
Lysons 'ancient castle' probably was Aikton Castle. Salkeld Hall was a gentry status building and, by analogue, the most likely form of the late medieval building was a chamber block in the form of a tower with an attached hall.