Description

WHITCHURCH RURAL C.P. ALKINGTON
SJ 53 NE
4/16 Alkington Hall
28.10.60
- II*

House, now farmhouse. 1592, probably for William Cotton (d. 1607).
Some mid-to late C19 alterations and additions. Red brick with grey
brick diapering and grey sandstone ashlar dressings. 2-span plain tile
and slate roof. L-plan. 2 storeys and gable-lit attic over basement.
North front: chamfered stone plinth, flush stone quoins, moulded stone
eaves cornice and parapeted gable ends with stone copings, obelisk finials
at feet (those to front probably renewed in the C19) and globe finials
at apices. Large external brick end stack to left with pair of diagonally-
placed square shafts, small brick stack in valley to right, and brick
ridge stack to rear wing consisting of 2 diagonally-placed square shafts.
2-window front; ovolo-moulded mullioned and transomed stone windows,
3-light to first floor and 4-light to ground floor. Small basement
window to left with chamfered reveals. Central C16 nail-studded boarded
door with wrought-iron strap hinges and furniture, and chamfered stone
reveals. C19 brick porch with chamfered plinth, flush quoins, moulded
eaves cornice and parapeted gable with finials at feet and apex. 2-
light double-chamfered mullioned stone window to front and chamfered
elliptical arch in left-hand return front. Right-hand gable end with
3-light first-floor and attic double-chamfered mullioned stone windows.
C19 one-storey lean-to addition with 3-light double-chamfered mullioned
stone window to front. East front: 2 gables. Central stack with
lean-to addition and fire window at base. 2-window front; double-chamfered
mullioned and transomed stone windows,2-light to attic, 3-light to first
and ground floor. Rear: ground-floor 2-light double-chamfered mullioned
stone window to right and segmental-headed 2-light wooden casement to
left-hand C19 addition. Chamfered Tudor-arched doorway to south with
boarded door. Probably early C17 wing at rear with chamfered crowstepped
gable, C20 attic casement and first-and ground-floor 3-light double-
chamfered mullioned stone windows. C19 two-storey lean-to in angle
to east. Interior: timber framed internal walls. Late C16 fittings
and ornament. Left-hand ground-floor front room: 3 ovolo-moulded
ceiling beams. Dado panelling, with bench along north wall. Large
open fireplace with slightly segmental chamfered wooden lintel and fire
window to left. Old panelled door. Left-hand ground-floor rear room:
old panelled door with fluted frieze. Pair of ovolo-moulded ceiling
beams. Enriched plaster ceiling consisting of 3 lozenges with rose
and acorn motifs. C19 staircase. First-floor staircase hall with
old panelled doors and ovolo-moulded beams. Blocked former entrance
to first-floor front room with chamfered arched bracing. Left-hand
first-floor front room: panelling, with fluting above door. Blocked stone
fireplace with chamfered reveals and deep stone lintel. Sumptious en-
riched plaster ceiling consisting of thin ribs, moulded cased beams with
fleur-de-lys and other ornament, and square panels with vine, rose and
lily motifs, one depicting a lion and 2 with heads, probably portraits.
Right-hand first-floor front room with panelling. Left-hand First-
floor rear room: ovolo-moulded beams. Plaster ceiling with 2 circular
panels, one with oak trails and one with a dragon and vine-leaf ornament.
Kitchen with deep-chamfered beams. Old oak boards throughout. William
was a son of Ralph Cotton and died in 1607. The date 1592, recorded
over an internal doorway (Clarke, 1952), was not noted at the time of
survey (October 1986). The house has undergone a number of alterations
since it was built. It probably formerly had a central 2-storey porch
to the north (see straight joints and differing brickwork above the present
porch). The house was enlarged, probably in the mid-C19, when the south-
west corner was filled in (see straight joints). Ernest Clarke, Shropshire
Magazine.Vol.2.No. 12, April 1952, pp 14-15 and 20.

Listing NGR: SJ5305839267

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17540711

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

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version