| Hornby Castle | |
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Southwest front of Hornby Castle
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| Location: | Hornby, Lancashire, England |
| OS grid reference: | SD 588 686 |
| Founded: | 13th century |
| Rebuilt: | About 1720 |
| Restored: | 1847–50 |
| Restored by: | Pudsey Dawson |
| Architect: | Sharpe and Paley |
| Architectural style(s): | Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name: Hornby Castle | |
| Designated: | 4 October 1967 |
| Reference #: | 1317655 |
| Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name: Terrace walls on southeast and southwest sides of Hornby Castle | |
| Designated: | 4 December 1985 |
| Reference #: | 1071687 |
| Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated: | 4 December 1985 |
| Reference #: | 1071654 |
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Location in Lancashire
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Hornby Castle is a country house, developed from a medieval castle, standing to the east of the village of Hornby in the Lune Valley, Lancashire, England. It occupies a position overlooking the village in a curve of the River Wenning.[1] The castle has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.[2]
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It is thought that the castle was originally built for the Neville family in the 13th century; this is the most likely date of the base of the tower at the back of the castle. The polygonal tower rising from this base dates from the 16th century, and was built probably for Sir Edward Stanley, 1st Baron Mounteagle. The castle was remodelled in about 1720 for Colonel Charteris.[1] By the middle of the 19th century the building had been inherited by Pudsey Dawson.[3] Dawson commissioned the Lancaster architects Sharpe and Paley to rebuild much of the structure; this was carried out between 1847 and 1850. The architects retained the older parts, including the polygonal tower, but demolished or remodelled the section constructed for Charteris. In 1879–82 the successors in the architectural practice, Paley and Austin, made additions on the west side of the building, and further alterations were made in 1890 by W. and R. Mawson of Bradford. In the middle of the 20th century some of the rooms in the east parts of the house were removed in order to create a courtyard.[1] At the same time the main internal staircase was removed.[2]
The house is constructed in sandstone rubble and it has slate roofs. Its architectural style is Perpendicular. The plan is irregular. The building is mainly in two storeys, and much of it has a battlemented parapet. The entrance front faces southwest and is almost symmetrical, with seven bays. The lateral bays project forward, as does the central three-storey porch. All the windows are mullioned, or mullioned and transomed. The lateral bays have bay windows, the upper floors of which are canted. The left bay has an additional pair of windows above the bay window. On each side of the porch are two bays containing varying types of windows. The porch has an octagonal turret on the left and a diagonal buttress on the right. In the middle storey is an oriel window, above which is a three-light window. Behind the porch, and slightly off-set to the left, is a square tower, and to its left is the taller, narrower, polygonal tower. The windows in the square tower include a partly blocked Venetian window. The courtyard created in the 20th century is behind the three right bays.[2]
The porch has a vaulted ceiling with foliated bosses. The hall is entered through a Tudor arch containing a Gothic-style glazed timber screen. The hall contains a sandstone fireplace with a Tudor arch.[2] Its windows contain stained glass dating from the late 19th century and moved here in the 20th century.[1] To the left of the hall is the Library containing woodwork said to be by Gillows. The upper floor includes a billiard room with Gothic decoration.[2] Also on the upper floor is a drawing room with a barrel vault and pendents.[1]
To the northeast of the main building is the earlier courtyard, now surrounded by apartments.[1] It is entered by a gatehouse with a pointed arch.[2] On the southwest and southeast sides of the house is a terrace with sandstone walls dating from the 19th century. Three flights of steps lead down from the terrace, and at the north end is a small semicircular building acting as a bastion. The walls are listed at Grade II.[4] At the entrance to the drive formerly leading to the castle is a lodge and gate piers. The lodge has a canted front, a steep slated roof, and an embattled turret. The gate piers are carved with roundels containing green men and the crest of Pudsey Dawson.[1] The lodge, gate piers and adjoining wall are also listed at Grade II.[5]
Hornby Castle is privately owned. The gardens are opened for special events on advertised dates.[6]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hornby_Castle,_Lancashire Hornby Castle, Lancashire] at Wikimedia Commons