Description

1317/0/10180
KEIGHLEY ROAD
Lychgate, attached boundary wall and steps at Hartley Homes

09-OCT-06
II
A lychgate, associated boundary wall, railings, gates, steps, flanking walls, sundial pedestal and the plinth upon which it stands, and a retaining wall and ornamental stone balustrade built in 1911 by Sir William Pickles Hartley and Lady Hartley which form part of the boundary and features within the landscaped garden of Hartley Homes almshouses. Renovated in 1977 to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

MATERIALS: Dressed local stone, timber, Westmorland slate, iron gates and railings.

PLAN: The lychgate and associated boundary wall, railings and gates run along the north side of Keighley Road and form the southern boundary of the Hartley Homes complex. Other features are located within the garden of Hartley Homes.

EXTERIOR: The lychgate is constructed of local ashlar stone and timber and is topped by a pitched roof of Westmorland slate and pitched stone copings. Access is through iron gates beneath an elliptical arch. Above the arch the date of Hartley Homes opening, 1911, is carved, and beneath this, sandwiched between two dripcourses, THE HARTLEY HOMES is carved. Either side of the entrance are round-headed alcoves beneath round-headed dripcourses with ornate stops. Both alcoves contain modern information insets explaining the history of Hartley Homes executed in gold lettering in a mixture of cursive and upper case format. The low boundary wall attached to the lychgate is of local stone topped with chamfered copings into which low iron railing are set. There are gates at either end of this wall which give access to stepped paths leading to the east and west almshouse ranges. From the lychgate steps give access into the garden. At the centre of the garden there is an ornate stone pedestal upon which a bronze sundial, now removed for safekeeping, was set. Each of the pedestal's faces contains a carving; the south face is carved HORAS NON, the east face is carved NUMERO NISI, the north face is carved SERENAS, the west face is illegible. This pedestal is set on a low two-stepped octagonal plinth surrounded by a walkway and low walls and is approached from the south by a flight of stone steps with flanking walls. From the pedestal a semi-circular flight of stone steps leads to a terrace in front of the north range of almshouses. This terrace is finished on its south side by a stone retaining wall topped by an ornate stone balustrade.

HISTORY: Hartley Homes were erected by Sir William Pickles Hartley, founder of the Hartley's jam and preserves empire, and Lady Hartley and presented to their native town of Colne in 1911. The garden was renovated in keeping with the original design and layout in 1977 to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: A group of features contemporary with Hartley Homes early C20 almshouses comprising a lychgate, associated boundary wall, railings, gates, steps, flanking walls, sundial pedestal and the plinth upon which it stands, and a retaining wall topped by an ornamental stone balustrade. These features are constructed in the same material as the almshouses and are an integral part of the design and layout of the almshouses complex and, like the almshouses themselves, display a high standard of architectural quality.

Sources: Colne & Nelson Times, Friday, October 13, 1911.
http://www.hartleyfamily.org.uk/Fame2SZ.htm accessed on 29 June 2006.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671127

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)