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Description: Nos. 1, 2 and 10 Sowerby Hall

Address: Sowerby Hall Stocks Lane Sowerby Sowerby Bridge Calderdale

Grade: II

Group detail: Town Gate (north side), Sowerby

Full description:
House, now 3 dwellings. Dated "IH IH 1646", Isobel and Joshua Houghton (Kendall 1910, p.169.). Rubble brought to course, stone slate roof. 2 storeys, 2 gabled bays with rear range projecting to right and through-passage. North front: quoins, chamfered plinth. Gabled porch to right of centre with chamfered, shallow-basket-arched doorway, kneelers, coping, finial and inner doorway in similar surround. Double-chamfered mullion windows: right-hand bay has window now of 2 lights with 6-light window above, both with hoodmoulds. Left-hand bay has (from right) a window now of 2 lights, a cross-window, and a 4- now 3-light window with transom, the 2 left hand lights made into a deeper sash. Continuous hoodmould with spiral stops over these windows, and above them a 6-light mullion and transom window with a small chamfered light to its right. In valley between bays a hole for gutter spout. Coping. Shaped finials. External stack on left side. Rear (south front): chamfered surround to through-passage doorway, the lintel dated and with cornice on consoles. To right, two 2-light double-chamfered mullion windows under continuous hoodmould with carved stop. To left, a 6-light flat faced mullion window and 2 tall 8-pane sashes in double-chamfered surrounds (formerly cross-windows) under dripmould with shield stops. To 1st floor three 2-light double chamfered mullion windows flanking a 6-light and a 2-light flat faced mullion window. 2 gutter spouts. Hipped roof. 2 stacks at ends of ridge and one at eaves at right end. Right return openings included traces of two 2-light double-chamfered mullion windows under hoodmoulds to ground floor and a 5-light double-chamfered mullion window above. Left return: front range: a blocked 2-light window, 2 gutter spouts; rear range: a blocked 3-light double-chamfered mullion and transom window to right of later door and window, a semi-circular hoodmould with head stops to left on 1st floor, and an oculus above. Interior: No. 2: south room (Housebody) has fine fireplace with deep segmental-arched lintel and moulded, step-stopped surround with cabling in spandrels. Chamfered, quoined, segmental-arched doorway in bookroom. North room has chamfered spine beams and large fireplace with chamfered quoined surround and sink, cushioned spandrels. 2 moulded doorways lead off through-passage into what is now No. 1. No. 1 has, in south room, a quoined fireplace with remnants of moulded lintel, one panelled wall and panelled doors. 1st floor: No. 1 south room has moulded, Tudor-arched fireplace, with spandrels with circles and initials "IH IH"; in north room a quoined angle fireplace. One good board and muntin door with moulded panels. Similar door to 1st floor of No. 2, and also 2 stop-chamfered quoined doorways (1 now window). Joshua Horton was a JP and friend of Oliver Heywood (Kendall 1902). H P Kendall, "Antiquarians at Sowerby. A Pleasant Ramble", (Halifax Antiquarian Society), Vol 1 (1902), 7 June. H P Kendall, "Sowerby Hall", (Halifax Antiquarian Society), Vol 7 (1910), pp.169-200.