Photograph - Mono (Document ID: 102002)
Exterior and interior shots of Upper Wat Ings Farm, London Road, Norland, West Yorkshire.
Author: John Y. Stapleton
Date: 1950
Location: Norland
Format: Photograph - Mono
Document ID: 102002
Library ID: 91 and 92
p1: Exterior of Upper Wat Ings Farm. At the time of the hpoto it was divided into two private residences, one a farmhouse.
p2: The inscription over the fireplace '16 LAUS DEO 38'. The picture of the crowned (non-Communist) Polish eagle above the fireplace belonged to an ex-Polish Army veteran who was the owner at the time of the photographs.
These photographs were amongst those published between June 1949 and July 1950 in 'Notable Houses of West Yorkshire', a
weekly series of articles in 'The Yorkshire Observer'. The photographs were taken by the author, John Y. Stapleton, during the above period.
The house was originally timber-framed. It belonged to the Waterhouse family for most of the 16th century, and was bought by a George Towne in 1625. In 1638 it was encased in stone.
The house is a Grade II listed building. The following is from Calderdale Council's listed buildings description:
House. Dated 1638 and 1668 with earlier origins; C19 and C20 alterations. Coursed squared stone, stone slate roof. RCHM report suggests a timber framed hall and cross-wing of c.1500 has had lower end rebuilt 1638 and stone encasement and west wing added 1668. Through passage. North (entrance) front: 2 storeys, 3 bays, all formerly gabled, left bay rebuilt after fire, single- pitched and projecting. It has single-storey pent roofed projection to front and gutter spout in angle with central bay. Central bay: ground floor masked by C20 single-storey addition; on 1st floor a 3-over 5-light double chamfered mullion window under dripmould with blind arched light to left. Right bay: a 1-light and 2-light window with 2-light window above, all with chamfered mullions. Gables have shaped kneelers, coping and finials. Large stack to ridge of left bay; another between central and right bays. Rear: 3 gabled bays. Right bay projects slightly and has plinth; formerly a door to left; a 3-light double chamfered mullion window with king mullion and hoodmould to ground floor and, above it, a similar window without king mullion with roundel stops and date '16' '38' to hoodmould. Central bay: door to left and above it a reset bi-cusped lintel dated '1668' (George Towne); on each floor a 2-light flat 'GT 1842' faced mullion window, 1st-floor window having decoratively-stopped hoodmould. Left bay: a 2-light window on each floor, 1st-floor window having hoodmould with terminals dated '18' '64'. Shaped kneelers, coping, finials. Interior: barrel-vaulted cellars with stone tables. Central room (housebody) has chamfered fireplace with deep lintel inscribed '16 LAU DEO 38', cornice and timber relieving arch; chamfered spine-beams; to either side of fireplace a chamfered quoined basket-arched doorway and a similar doorway to outshut. Left room has large quoined basket-arched fireplace and doorway to housebody. 1st floor: a stop-chamfered ogee-arched fireplace to central room and another, Tudor-arched, with C19 grate. Former timber frame indicated by timbers between central and right rooms: a post rises from below, braced to tiebeam, the brace morticed for a post to the rail and the tie-beam with mortices for a studded wall. The house was owned by members of the Waterhouse family in the C16 and until 1616; George Towne bought it in 1625 (Kendall pp.98-99). H P Kendall, "Ancient Halls of Norland", (Halifax Antiquarian Society), Vol 2 (1904), pp.93-111. RCHM(E) Report (31471).
