Summary
Home farm to the Parlington Estate, 1813-1815, by Watson and Pritchett of York for Richard Oliver Gascoigne
Reasons for Designation
Parlington Home Farm, including the farmhouse and farm buildings, constructed in the mid-1810s for Richard Oliver Gascoigne, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it is a distinguished example of estate architecture employing a careful use of proportions and symmetry, and classical styling;
* the size of the farmstead and the architectural detailing of the buildings reflect the status of the Parlington Estate in the early C19 and the Gascoigne family;
* despite some later alteration and losses the buildings form a coherent and legible ensemble.
Historic interest:
* it is an early and extensive group of planned farm buildings constructed during the most important period of farm development in England;
* it reflects the ongoing importance of the Parlington Estate's agricultural interests in the C19, following Sir Thomas Gascoigne and John Kennedy's pioneering agricultural experimentation in the late C18.
Group value:
* it has strong group value with the other listed buildings and structures on the Parlington Estate, and the Grade II-registered landscape.
History
The history of the Parlington estate is intertwined with that of the Gascoignes, a family of Catholic landed gentry based in Yorkshire. Land at Parlington, including the medieval village of Parlington and probably also a manorial complex, was bought by John Gascoigne (1520-1602) from Thomas Lord Wentworth in March 1545. The remains of the village are believed to have been removed in the C18 when the landscape was gentrified and mineral extraction was also exploited. Parlington became the seat of the Gascoignes in the early 1720s when they moved from nearby Barnbow Hall (now demolished).
Parlington Hall (now - 2018 - largely demolished) is believed to have been remodelled in the 1730s for Sir Edward Gascoigne (1697-1750), and again in around 1800 for his son Sir Thomas. Sir Thomas Gascoigne (1745-1810), who was born and raised in Cambrai, northern France and was the youngest son of Sir Edward and Mary Gascoigne, inherited the Parlington estate in 1762 after his elder brother's sudden death. He settled in England in 1765, interspersing his residence with two Grand Tours where he mixed in court society, including with Marie Antoinette and Charles III, King of Spain. In 1780 Gascoigne abjured his Catholic faith to become an Anglican and a Member of Parliament, becoming a close ally of the Marquis of Rockingham. However, in 1784 Sir Thomas married Lady Mary Turner, a widow with two young children, and he resigned from politics to concentrate on his family and improving the Parlington estate, although he returned to politics several years later following Mary's early death from childbirth complications. Sir Thomas was an advocate of agricultural reform like his father Sir Edward, and a coal mine and quarry owner interested in developing technologies and innovation. He also had a keen interest in horse racing and breeding, developing a stud at Parlington. Gascoigne was elected Honorary Member of the Board of Agriculture in 1796 and his expertise and opinions on agricultural reform were sought by the board and his contemporaries.
In 1771 Sir Thomas employed the gardener John Kennedy (1719-1790) who had been employed and recommended by Gascoigne's brother-in-law William Salvin of Croxdale Hall, County Durham. Kennedy was from a notable family of C18 gardeners and horticulturalists and in 1776 he published an account of the aboricultural methods he employed at Parlington in a book entitled 'A Treatise Upon Planting, Gardening, and the Management of the Hot-House' where he pioneered new techniques, such as the use of artificial fertilisers. The book sold to subscribers including members of the peerage and earned the estate an international reputation for pioneering techniques in cultivation and agriculture.
Sir Thomas Gascoigne died in 1810 shortly after his only son and heir, Thomas Charles (1786-1809) had died in a hunting accident. The estate subsequently passed to his step-daughter Mary (c1783-1819) who had married Captain Richard Oliver (1762-1842); her husband taking the name Gascoigne as stipulated by Sir Thomas' will. Richard Oliver Gascoigne maintained the estate's agricultural and horse racing interests developed by Sir Thomas at Parlington, and he also further developed mineral assets on the estate, constructing the Dark Arch in 1813 on the coal wagonway of Parlington Lane that cut through the estate just to the south of the hall. Parlington Hall was altered and extended at some point in the mid-1810s for Richard Oliver Gascoigne by Watson and Pritchett of York. Watson and Pritchett also produced a number of designs for other buildings on the estate from 1813 to 1815 for Gascoigne, including stables (now demolished), dog kennels (now demolished) and a gamekeeper's house.
Richard Oliver's two sons Thomas and Richard pre-deceased him and thus upon his death his two daughters Mary Isabella (1810-1891) and Elizabeth (1812-1893) inherited. Mary Isabella and her husband lived at Parlington, and Elizabeth and her husband lived at the family's other estate, Castle Oliver in County Limerick, Ireland. After the death of his parents Parlington passed to Isabella's son Colonel Frederick Richard Thomas Trench-Gascoigne in 1905. Frederick, who had already inherited nearby Lotherton Hall from his aunt Elizabeth and had made that his family residence, focused on a military career, leaving the running of the Parlington Estate to employees. Frederick removed many of the contents from the hall, along with a number of architectural features, including the hall's porte cochere, which became a garden feature at Lotherton. Parlington Hall was subsequently abandoned and in 1919 the estate's mines were sold.
During the Second World War the Parlington estate was occupied by the Royal Army Ordnance Corps No 3 Vehicle Reserve Depot and a number of temporary buildings were constructed, all of which have since been demolished, but tank inspection ramps survive. During the war German and Russian prisoners of war were also hired from the West Riding War Agricultural Executive Committee to work in the woods of the estate.
The majority of the hall was demolished in 1952, leaving only part of the service wing surviving, which is now a private house. The entire estate was sold in the 1960s and is now owned by an institutional property investment fund.
It has been suggested that Parlington Home Farm was possibly designed by John Carr in the late C18, but plan drawings held at West Yorkshire Archive Service confirm that the farmhouse and farm buildings were designed by Watson and Pritchett of York between 1813 and 1815 as part of their programme of works on the estate for Richard Oliver Gascoigne. Alterations, including some conversion for other uses, have taken place to the buildings during the C20.
Details
Home farm to the Parlington Estate, 1813-1815, by Watson and Pritchett of York for Richard Oliver Gascoigne
MATERIALS: mellow red brick with brick and limestone dressings, and limestone plinths. Slate roof coverings and some late-C20 replaced concrete roof tiles.
PLAN: the farm is located approximately 440m north-west of the former site of the now mostly-demolished hall and has a quadrangular courtyard plan, with the farmhouse located to the south-east side of the yard.
EXTERIOR: the farm buildings have a mixture of pitched and hipped roofs, and doorways and multipaned windows with flat-arched heads and limestone sills, some of which are painted. Most windows are of timber, with a small number of replaced uPVC windows.
FARMHOUSE: the farmhouse is in the style of the work of John Carr and is of two-storeys with a pitched roof. There are two substantial chimneystacks, which rise from the centre of each roof pitch and the original slate roof coverings have been removed and replaced by concrete roof tiles. The front south-east elevation and rear north-west courtyard-facing elevations are identically styled albeit with varied glazing. Both elevations are of three bays with pedimented gables with ashlar dressings, including paired modillions that continue across the side elevations, and a glazed oculus window to each gable with multipaned glazing. The windows, which have flat-arched heads of gauged bricks and painted-stone sills, mainly contain later casements, but two six-over-six sash windows survive to the ground floor of the south-east elevation, with a further sash window surviving to the north-east side elevation. Each elevation also has a doorway to the centre of the ground floor with a flat hood above, three-light overlight, and a replaced door. Projecting outwards from each end of the south-east elevation in arching formations are low curving, brick wing walls with stone copings that originally formed a complete semi-circle to each side, but have since been truncated.
The two-bay north-east and south-west side elevations both have blind windows to the first floor, whilst the north-east side also has an inserted window. Windows exist to the ground floor of the north-east side, whilst the south-west side has a doorway to the right (originally serving the back kitchen) with a flat hood above and modern French doors. Attached to the left (north-western half) of the south-west side elevation and projecting out at a right angle is a single-storey range (a corresponding range on the north-east side was demolished between 1965 and 1972 to create another yard entrance, and the ghost marks of its pitched roof can still be observed) with a pitched roof with replaced concrete tiles and a number of original and later openings on each north-west and south-east elevation. The range was originally longer and has been truncated and partly demolished, although the rear (north-west) and south-west walls of the demolished section survive.
NORTH-WEST RANGE: this two-storey principal range, which is approximately 211ft long and retains its original slate roof coverings, is symmetrical with a large three-bay threshing barn to the centre flanked by long four-bay wings, which are set back slightly. On the 11-bay north-west elevation the former threshing barn has two large segmental-arched openings to the outer bays (that to the left - north-east side - has a later timber door) and projecting out from the centre is a two-storey five-bay, hipped-roofed cross wing (contained a threshing machine originally) with blocked-up doorways and window openings, along with an original blind window to the north-west end wall and blocked-up openings below, and a large inserted opening on the north-east side with a timber lintel.
The four-bay wings flanking the barn have blind windows to the inner bays of the ground floor and square windows to the first floor, and projecting single-bay, single-storey cross wings at the north-east and south-west ends. Late-C19 single-storey lean-tos are attached in front of the south-western wing. The cross-wing projection at the north-east end has a blind segmental arch to the north-east side containing a boarded window, an enlarged cart opening to the south-west side with timber doors, and a blind window to the north-west gable end. The projection's roof coverings have been replaced by concrete tiles and the hipped roof is now pitched. The corresponding cross-wing projection at the south-west end has been converted into domestic accommodation, along with the two-storey section of the north-west wing immediately behind it (the whole now forming a residence known as Home Farm Cottage), which has a chimneystack rising from the north-west wall. The presence of the chimneystack, which does not appear to be a later addition, would suggest that at least part of this end section was possibly used as accommodation (perhaps for farm labourers) or for industrial processing necessitating a chimney. The projection, which early plans suggest was intended to be a slaughterhouse, has a blind arch to the south-west side incorporating an enlarged window opening with replaced uPVC glazing, a window with a flat-arched head and uPVC glazing to the north-west end wall, and an altered window to the north-east side adjacent to a C20 porch and late-C19 lean-tos. The north-west range's south-west end wall, which also now forms part of Home Farm Cottage has an inserted ground-floor doorway with patio doors and two later first-floor windows with uPVC glazing.
On the north-west range's 14-bay south-east yard-facing elevation the four centre bays project forward slightly with segmental-arched openings to the two outer bays lying opposite the threshing doors, and blind arched recesses containing windows to the inner bays. To the first floor are blind windows. The five-bay south-western wing has a series of doorways to the ground floor (one of which has been converted into a window with modern uPVC glazing) and windows to the first floor (two of which have been replaced with uPVC); the alterations all forming part of Home Farm Cottage. The range's five-bay north-eastern wing has a series of doorways and windows to the ground floor and windows to the first floor.
SOUTH-WEST RANGE: the south-west range is approximately 202ft long and single storey in height. The north-western half of the range has replaced concrete-tile roof coverings, whilst the remainder retains its original slate coverings. The range has a series of blind arches to the north-east and south-west elevations and the south-east end (some incorporating original doorways), along with boarded doors and windows to the north-east side. The rear south-west elevation is partly hidden by heavily overgrown vegetation, but it can be seen that arches at the south-eastern end, which were originally open for use as a cart shed have modern breezeblock infill and inserted extractors. At the range's north-western end where it adjoins the north-west range is a covered cartway providing access into the farm's internal courtyard, with a segmental-arched opening on the north-east side and an altered opening on the north-west side with a girder lintel; both openings have modern boarded covers.
NORTH-EAST RANGE: the north-east range is also single storey and is approximately 187ft long due to the loss of a covered cartway section adjoining the north-west range, which was removed to provide greater access into the internal courtyard (the ghost marks of its pitched roof can be observed on the north-west range). The range has replaced concrete-tile roof coverings and on the north-east side are a series of mainly blind arches, some of which towards the south-east end contain windows. At the far south-east end of the north-east elevation are arched openings with later timber doors that originally served a cart shed, now a garage. To the south-west yard-facing elevation are mainly doorways and windows, with a series of blind brick arches to the south-eastern third. To the roof is a later/rebuilt short ridge stack.
CENTRAL COURTYARD RANGE: this largely demolished and heavily altered range is not of special interest and is excluded from the listing.
INTERIOR:
FARMHOUSE: internally the farmhouse's internal arrangements are largely unaltered with a central hallway with two rooms off to each side of the ground floor, which is replicated on the first floor. Plain moulded cornicing exists to the principal rooms on the south-east (front) side of the ground floor (which also have ceiling roses), the hallway and first-floor landing areas, with plain coving to the first-floor rooms. Doorways have deep reveals and moulded architraves, and wide six-panel doors survive throughout. Separating the front hallway from the rear hallway on the ground floor is a six-panel door with large stained and leaded-glass panels to the upper part. A dog-leg stair is set to the centre rear with a sweeping turn, slender turned newel post, carved stick balusters, and a cut string. The kitchen is located to the rear left of the ground floor and has modern units, but retains an early laundry rack suspended from the ceiling. Two doorways (one of which is original) in the south-west wall lead into the single-storey range, which is now utility rooms and storage areas. An arched recess to the south-east wall contains a doorway that leads through to the front left room, which was originally the back kitchen. The fireplace has been removed and replaced by a modern gas fire and surround, but original arched recesses flanking the chimneybreast survive; that to the left has original built-in cupboards. The front right room is similarly styled, but with shallower arched recesses. A former store room and pantry to the rear right of the ground floor have been knocked through to form a single room, which is now in use as an office.
On the first floor an L-shaped landing provides access to the bedrooms and an attic stair. The rooms have plain coving and built-in cupboards, and the front-right bedroom has arched recesses. A doorway has been inserted through one of the cupboards to connect the two rooms on the south-west side. Fireplaces have been removed, along with a closet at the south-east end of the landing. A former bedroom to the rear right with a painted 8-light overlight above the door is smaller and is now a bathroom.
The attic is accessed via a separate stair flight with a shortened and simplified version of the main stair's newel post, plain stick balusters, a closed string and a ramped handrail, and a later inserted window in the house's north-east wall now lights the base of the stair. At the top of the stair is a small landing area with a single room off to both the front and rear with side hatches into eaves storage areas.
The basement was not inspected, but is understood to have a vaulted ceiling. The basement door underneath the main stair incorporates ventilation holes.
FARM BUILDINGS: the majority of the farm buildings' internal walls are plastered.
NORTH-WEST RANGE: internally the threshing barn has a concrete floor and is now partly occupied by two large C20 silos set upon a concrete and brick platform. The original roof structure is visible with its exposed king-post trusses, side purlins and rafters. A brick and limestone stair inside the south-west threshing entrance leads up to a former first-floor granary in the south-west wing, the south-western end of which now forms part of Home Farm Cottage. The former granary has boarded walls and ceiling. A corresponding stair inside the north-east threshing barn entrance leads up to the former first-floor granary in the north-east wing. Both have adjacent taking-in doors. The interior of the large north-west threshing-machine projection was not available for inspection.
A former cow house occupies the north-eastern part of the ground floor of the north-west range with fodder stores at the far north-east end and in the rear right projection. The former cow house has a part-concrete, part-brick floor and the south-western end has inserted C20 silos that pass through the first floor, and an inserted stair alongside the front (south-east) wall. A doorway in the north-east wall with a six-panel door leads into two probable fodder stores with brick floors. The first-floor former granary originally has a six-panel door providing access between areas. The roof has been ceiled, although beams are visible that probably form the tie beams of trusses above.
The ground floor of the range's south-western wing has been used as stables and for storage. The end block, which early plans suggest was in use as a slaughter house and fasting house originally, has been converted into domestic accommodation, probably in the C19. A large kitchen has a coved ceiling with a recess containing a laundry rack, a chimneybreast with a modern timber fire surround and stove, and a built-in cupboard and shelving. A plank and batten door leads through into a wide hallway with a very high ceiling with a steep stair flight off to the north-east side leading up to the first floor, and doorways off to each side with six-panel doors and six-light overlights leading in to two rooms; that to the south-west side is larger with a chimneybreast and modern fireplace and stove. The first floor has been modernised and has a mixture of doors, including six-panel, plank and batten, and mid-C20 four-panel doors that suggest phased alterations or re-use.
SOUTH-WEST RANGE: internally the south-west range has a king-post truss roof, which is boarded over in places, and concrete, brick and tile floors. At least one plank and batten door survives. The north-western half of the range and the former cart shed are in use as poultry houses with modern coops. A possible workshop adjacent to the former cart shed has a chimneybreast, but the corresponding chimneystack on the roof has been removed.
NORTH-EAST RANGE: internally the north-east range also has a king-post truss roof, which is boarded over in places. At the north-west end of the range is a cow byre with a concrete floor and slurry channel. The rest of the range is largely former stables and storage areas, a probable former saddlery with a chimneybreast and fireplace opening, a workshop/smithy with a truncated corner chimneybreast and fireplace opening, and a former cart shed, which is now in use as a garage.
