Churchstoke Hall

Cadw's description

Location

Located on the corner of Castle Road and Green Lane. A courtyard to the rear of the hall is lined by a barn converted to dwellings and a mews with attached house.

History

A large L-shaped hall constructed in three phases. The N unit is the earliest and is said to date to 1591. The S unit dates to c 1640, while the S wing was built in 1948. Formerly belonged to the Earls of Powis and shown on a survey map of 1785, where the 1591 unit is shown as being narrower than the 1640 unit.

Exterior

Excluding the modern wing, the house has a lobby entry plan of c 1640 with 2 storeys, attic and cellar. Timber framing and masonry under a slate roof with two brick stacks. The doorway is in the W elevation opposite the ridge stack, with a parlour bay to the S and 2 bays separated by a corridor to the N. There is a gable stack at the N end in the kitchen. The staircase is located to the rear of the ridge stack in a projecting outshut, along with the entrance to the cellar. The 1591 plan may have been essentially similar (RCAHMW). The 2 stacks appear to date to this earlier phase and have triple, star-shaped shafts constructed in flat red bricks. The original entrance was probably in the same position as the present entrance, opposite the south stack. The parlour bay to the S may have been added in c1640 though possibly on the site of a pre-existing unit.

The S end is close studded with brick nogging in the lower storey. The upper storey is jettied, and the framing may have been replaced (RCAHMW). Its low row of panels contain diagonal bracing resulting in a criss-cross design, with diamond shaped panels lining the verges of the gable. The earlier bays to the N are of substantial random masonry in the lower storey with what appears to be framing similar to the S bay in the upper storey. However, it is plaster decorated with black and white paint. An early, but undated photograph of the house shows that the first storey originally contained box framing decorated with cusping and this is thought to survive below the plaster facing. The rear is of random rubble masonry while the N end is box framed with brick nogging.

The W door and door frame are said to have come from the Church and date to the C17 (RCHAMW). The door is planked with metal studs and the heavy door frame has a small cornice supported by consoles. The windows are either tripartite casements or single lights with diamond quarries. Some have cast iron glazing bars. The windows to the rear are modern replacements and there is a panelled back door. The outshut has small pane casements and the window to the cellar is under a segmental brick arch..

The 1948 wing is in vernacular revival style with a lower storey of masonry, light timbering and plaster to the upper storey, an axial ridge stack and an entrance porch on the S side.

Interior

The parlour at the S end has substantial, deep chamfered spine and cross beams while the subsidiary joists are deeply chamfered with cut stops. Dragon beams support the S jetty. The fireplace has a panelled overmantle, the panels being intricately carved with an arcade-type design. They are said to have been a loan from the Earl of Powis and date from c1800. A panelled partition separates the staircase from the corridor to the rear of the chimney stack. The central bay has two spine beams with deep chamfers and ogee stops, while the kitchen spine beams are deeply chamfered with cut stops and there are plain subsidiary joists. There is a bake oven to the rear of the kitchen fireplace.

Reason for designation

Listed as a fine example of a large timber-framed lobby entry style house of the sub-medieval period.