Manor House, Bishop Middleham © DCC 2006


Manor House © DCC 2006


Manor House (rear in 2006) © DCC 2006

House; south part removed by road widening. Late C17 or early C18. Painted limestone rubble with painted brick dressings; right return thinly-rendered rubble with brick quoins and patching; left return C20 render. Rear has painted ashlar dressings. Roof pantiles with rendered stone gable copings and C19 yellow brick chimneys. 3 storeys, 3 bays. Central renewed boarded door and 2-pane overlight. Segmental brick arches and brick jambs to C20 windows with wood mullions and transoms in outer bays on first 2 floors; similar treatment to smaller 8-pane top-floorlights, the left fixed and the right a horizontal sliding sash, into roof space. Cogged brick eaves cornice. Steeply-pitched roof has late C19 end chimneys with cornices in imitation of eaves cornice. Left return has fragments of earlier walls, and external chimney stacks. Rear shows lintels cut in imitation of voussoirs; eaves cornice lost paint showing early bricks.

Interior shows at least one ground-floor room with C18 panelled cupboard, and joists with ogee-stopped chamfers; most other ceilings reported to be underdrawn. 2 lugged painted chimney pieces on first floor, with hour-glass cast-iron banded grates, that in front left room with low-relief cast floral decoration and wavy-edged mantel-shelf. Arched cupboard beside this has butterfly hinges. Many doors with 6 raised fielded panels. Dogleg stair in rear has narrow moulded handrail on splat balusters, in imitation of barleysugar-twists separated by central knob, and square newels with plain pendant at first-floor landing between paired flat wood arches over stair.

2-panel door to roof has L hinges. Roof trusses have 3 collars, and 3 levels of butt purlins; short wall-plates support principal rafters; brick columns below common rafters; C18 near-central hoist, with nearly-full-height central post, short strut to rear and long strut to front purlins, and front spar with 2 wedge-shaped blocks, possibly for retaining ropes; much wear on rear strut at this level. Blocked door in left gable formerly gave access to roof of demolished building.