A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



firephcc is I 2 ft. 6 in. wide and 4 ft. deep, and there 

 is a four-light wood window on the west side. North 

 of the kitchen w.is a room, now divided into sculler/ 

 and larder, with a large chimney and a fine window 

 of nine lights on the west side. A corridor which 

 runs along the west side of the courtyard between it 

 and the kitchen is of later date, having been taken 

 out of the courtyard space and covered with a lean-to 

 roof 



About the middle or early part of the latter half 

 of the I 7th century the whole of the princip.il front 

 facing south was pulled down and rebuilt on a more 

 imposing and lavish scale in the style of the time and 

 raised another story. This work may have been 

 begun by Thomas Charnock, who married the heiress 

 Bridget Molyneux and died in 1648, but more likely 

 by his son Robert and finished by his granddaughter 

 Margaret the wife of Richard Brooke, whose arms, 

 together with those of Charnock quartering Moly- 

 neu.x, occur in the pl.ister cornice of the hall, fixing 

 the date of that portion of the work after 1666, the 

 year of Margaret's marriage. The building has a 

 frontage of 76 ft. and is about 33 ft. in depth, ex- 

 clusive of the bay windows. In this Jacobean re- 

 modelling of the house many of the usual character- 

 istics of plan as regards the relative position of the 

 great hall and other apartments were lost, and every- 

 thing seems to have been subordinated to external 

 effect. The two great bays which go up the full 

 height of the house are the dominating feature of 

 the front, the whole architectural interest of which 

 lies in the management of the fenestration. 'I'he 

 walls are built of red brick' with stone dressings, 

 and terminate in a balustraded parapet which com- 

 pletely hides the roof. The brickwork has, however, 

 at some subsequent time been entirely covered with 

 plaster, so that the prevailing colour of the building 

 is now grey. 



The great hall occupies a central position, with 

 the drawing-room to the east and the morning room 

 to the west ; but the bays and entrance are not in 

 the middle of the elevation, but slightly to the west, 

 a concession in some respects of the elevation to the 

 plan. The hall, which is 30 ft. long by 26 ft. in 

 width, has a flagged floor and goes up the full height 

 of two stories, with one of the bay windows in its 

 south-east corner. The bays are semi-octagonal in 

 plan, with a window of two lights on five sides, that 

 to the hall, which e.xtends the full height of the 

 room, having three transoms, and thus consisting of 

 eight lights on each face, or forty lights in all. 

 There is also a range of windows over the entrance 

 doorway 13 ft. from the floor. The door itself, 

 which has a segmental stone head, opens directly on 

 to the garden, and is flanked externally by double 

 Ionic columns supporting portions of an entablature 

 surmounted by lions. The doorway occ\ipies almost 

 the whole of the space between the bays, which 

 completely overshadow it, and is poor in detail. The 



fireplace, which is opposite the door, appears to be a 

 later insertion of the beginning of the la>: LCntury, 

 but the overmantel is apparently of 17th-century 

 date. The original wide staircase remains at the 

 north-west corner of the hall, leading directly to the 

 older part of the house, and is of massive dark oak, 

 the balustrade and newels elaborately carved, the 

 whole forming a very fine specimen of Renaissance 

 work. The walls of the hall arc wainscoted all 

 round to a height of 9 ft. 6 in., with a square 

 panelled surbase, and a series of portrait panels 

 above under semicircular heads, and separated by 

 fluted Ionic pilasters. On the frieze above are the 

 names ^ of the persons depicted below, and the 

 inner moulding of the panels is gilded. The ceiling 

 is of plaster divided into eight compartments, which, 

 together with a deep plaster frieze and cornice, are 

 decorated with lavishly displayed Renaissance orna- 

 ment.^ The long table now in the hall was 

 brought from Extwistle Hall, near Burnley, formerly 

 a seat of the Parkers. 



From the west end of the hall a passage leads 

 directly to an outside door on that side of the house, 

 and indirectly communicates with the kitchen and 

 old west wing. The morning room, which occupies 

 the south-west corner of the building and is lit by 

 one of the great bays, is a charming apartment 9 ft. 

 high panelled all round in oak to within a foot of 

 the ceiling, and measuring only 17 ft. by i 5 ft. The 

 bay window, however, which is 10 ft. in width and 

 the same depth, almost doubles the size of the room, 

 which in addition has a small single-light window on 

 the west side. Externally the divisions of the bay 

 window correspond with those of the bay to the 

 great hall, the floor cutting across the openings 

 without regard to the position of the transoms, or, 

 indeed, to anything but exterior architectural effect. 

 The plaster cornice is small, but of good design, and 

 the ceiling has a large oval mythological panel, and in 

 the bay an octagonal one with birds, beasts, floral 

 border and central pendant. The fireplace is an 

 excellent piece of Renaissance woodwork, with 

 twisted Ionic columns below and caryatids above, and 

 a boldly carved central panel with cherubs' heads, 

 dolphins, and the usual accompanying floral detail. 



The drawing-room leads directly from the great 

 hall at its east end, and there was originally a door, 

 now built up, on its north side. It measures 26 ft. 

 by 22 ft. 6 in., and is lit by a range of mullioned 

 windows on its south and east sides ; but internally 

 one of the lights on the south side has been built up, 

 giving three equally spaced two-light windows on 

 that side of the room. The walls are covered with 

 17th-century tapestry representing the story of Jason 

 and the Golden Fleece ; but the chief feature of the 

 room is the exceedingly elaborate ceiling, ornamented 

 similarly to that of the hall but far more lavishly. 



The east wing is architecturally uninteresting and 

 comprises on the ground floor only two rooms, the 



^ On an old undated oil painting, now 

 in the dining-room, the elevation is 

 shown in red brick, and on the south and 

 west of the house is a formal garden with 

 a terrace extending the length of the 

 building, and inclosed by a wall with 

 towers at the angles. There is nothing 

 to indicate whether this is a representa- 

 tiun of the hou^e and gardens as they 

 oucc existed, or whether it is simply a 



design for what was intended to be 

 carried out. 



- The names of the character?, who 

 are depicted full length, are : Henri IV 

 of France, Robert Dudley Earl of 

 Leicester, William Prince of Orange, 

 Queen Elizabeth, Scandcrbeg, Tamerlane, 

 FerJinand Magellan, Ambrosius Spinola, 

 Columbus, Philip II of Spain, Alexander 

 Farnese Duke of Parma, Mohammed II, 



Bethlen-Gabor Prince of Transylvania, 

 Bajazet I, and Sir Francis Drake. 



■* This ceiling, together with that in 

 the drawing-room, is said to have been 

 the work of Italian craftsmen. The most 

 delicate and attenuated of the ornaments 

 arc made of lead coloured to imitate 

 plaster, and leather is saiJ also to be 

 used. 



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