Details
SE 04 NW
1/4
10.9.54
KILDWICK
GRANGE ROAD
(north side)
Kildwick Hall with kitchen block to rear.
GV
II*
Large house, now hotel. Probably pre-1653 for Henry Currer; kitchen 1673
for Hugh Currer; altered 1722 -24 for Howarth, Richard and John Currer;
modified mid C19 for Wilson family. Coursed gritstone rubble and ashlar
dressings, graduated stone slate roof. Quoins. 3-storey main range, the
upper storey partly in the roof; 4 gabled bays, having a medieval-type plan
of a cross passage, central hall and cross wings, the narrower storeyed
porch (bay 3) and cross wings projecting slightly. A 2-storey, 3-bay
kitchen block to rear, originally separate but linked by a 2-storey range
which projects to the east. Main range: porch has studded board door in
moulded ashlar surround with interlace motifs in the spandrels and shallow
triangular doorhead; hoodmould and moulded plaque with coat of arms in high
relief. Recessed ovolo-moulded mullion windows throughout, of 6, 8 (with
king mullion) and 6 lights to ground floor; of 6, 5 + 2 and 3 (to porch)
and 6 lights to first floor, on both floors with a continuous hoodmould.
The gabled second storey has windows of 5, 3, 3 and 5 lights, the two 3-
light windows being ogee-headed and all with hoodmoulds. Moulded kneelers
and gable copings with pyramidal knopped finials. Lead downpipes are
decorated, with the date 1771 on fountain head and a mailed fist with
dagger in relief on the fixing plaques. Moulded kneelers and gable copings
probably rebuilt at same date. Corniced ashlar stacks to left and right
returns, both external, and to ridge left of bay 2 and rear of ridge, to
right of entrance bay. Rear, main range: the ground and first floors are
obscured by the later addition but 2-light recessed chamfered mullion
windows light the rear corridor of the second storey. Left return:
moulded surround to doorway left of centre with intitals H C (Haworth
Currer 1690 -1744) in responds and hoodmould. 2-light ovolo-moulded
window with hoodmould to left of entrance; similar stepped pairs of windows
light the staircase to first and second floors. Projecting quoined stack
to right and drainpipe dated 1926. Right return, main range; inserted
glazed door to right in former window opening, cross-window to ground and
first floor on left of the external stack under a hoodmould returned from
front; 3-light mullion and transom staircase window to first floor, right,
with a small chamfered opening to left of it; a 3-light attic window above;
a small inserted window below eaves far left. Projecting 2-storey bay to
right; canted bay window with mullion and transom windows to ground floor,
mullions to first floor, between the windows a plaque with shield and
raised lettering, "FMRC 1858", shaped kneelers and hipped roof; mullion and
transom window to first floor of left return; corniced ashlar ridge stack
to rear and eaves stack to right. This bay overlies the east gable of the
rear kitchen, the 2 western bays of the southern side of which are visible
from the west courtyard of the hall. Kitchen block, south front: quoins; a
2-light flat-faced mullion window and a 3-light recessed chamfered mullion
window with hoodmould to ground floor, both recessed chamfered, the
hoodmoulds both having elaborately carved out-turned stops; stone gutter
brackets, shaped kneelers, gable copings, end stacks to left and one to
rear of ridge on right. Interior, hall: the porch entrance opens into a
large reception room with massive stone arched fireplace at the left end-
the voussoirs are separate and the chamfer is elaborately moulded; C17 and
early C18 panelling, some reset; 2 massive ceiling beams with quarter-round
moulding to chamfers. Front room, right: plain fireplace with C17
overmantle; C18 Gothick-style plasterwork to ceiling, with deeply moulded
panels set with rosettes and fleurs de lis. A doorway to right of the hall
fireplace leads to the massive stone staircase in the rear of the left bay;
it is of 4 straight flights and the landing ceilings have C17 plaster
panels with deeply moulded fruit and flowers including roses and fleur de
lis. The dining room in the rear range of the house, right, is entered
from the archway opposite the entrance door and has richly-decorated wall
and ceiling panels. First floor: a corridor along the rear of the house
has 5 bolection-moulded doorways with 2-panel doors giving access to the
front bedrooms. The room over the hall has a small bolection-moulded
fireplace and panelling including a partition wall with sealed-up door and
cupboards. A panelled room to first floor right has a plain fireplace
with elaborate overmantle decorated with arcading, attached columns and
strapwork; the ceiling cornice and beam have relief plaster decoration
including heraldic beasts, icons, bosses and vine scrolls. All first-floor
windows have shutters with fielded panels; the inner faces of the mullions
are ovolo-moulded. A back staircase between the first and second floors,
to rear, left, is of 2 flights, with knopped column on vase balusters and
moulded handrail. Second-floor front rooms are ceiled just above tie-beam
level, the main roof not inspected at resurvey. Kitchen block: a massive
fireplace with deep chamfer and a wide doorway to right, formerly leading
to scullery and larder; between fireplace and doorway a carving in relief,
" H C " . Mullioned windows in the east gable are now blocked or altered.
1673
Early painted glass survives in the window lighting the first half-landing
of the main staircase with the initials H G and E R, a cross and 3 lions'
heads, all mounted in C19 or early C20 leading and possibly from the
church. The Currer and Richardson families are those responsible for the
building work at Kildwick. Hugh Currer (d.1617) bought the manor of
Kildwick and his son Henry (1587 - 1653) bought the Grange, reuniting the
Bolton Abbey lands at Kildwick which had been divided shortly after the
Dissolution. Henry probably built the main range of the house but his son
Hugh (1608 -90) made significant additions - his initials are in the
kitchen range and feature again with those of his wife, Ann Haworth of
Thurcroft, reset on a fountain head (1663) of the Justice Room (q.v.).
The coat of arms above the entrance are those of Currer and Haworth. Their
son, Henry (d.1723) was a Justice and probably built the Justice Room. One
of their grandsons was given the name Haworth Currer (1690 - 1744), he was
probably responsible for laying out the gardens but his sister, Dorothy,
inherited the estate on his death and probably brought further wealth to
the family on her marriage in 1705 to Richard Richardson of Brierley
(d.1741). Their son, John Richardson (1721 -1784),assumed the name of
Currer and succeeded to the estate in 1759. The date 1771 and Richardson
badge of a fist clasping a dagger on the lead fall-pipes suggests further
work on the roofs and elsewhere. In 1784 the estate was passed on via
John's nephew Henry to Margaret Clive, Henry's widow, who in 1800 married
her cousin Matthew Wilson at Gargrave. The family house was Eshton Hall.
Margaret's daughter and heiress Frances Mary Richardson Currer (1785-1861)
had her initials added to the bay-windowed dining room. When the house
passed from the Richardson to the Wilson families it ceased to be occupied
by the owners and was tenanted throughout the C19 apart from 1825-26 when
Eshton Hall was being rebuilt and Matthew Wilson lived there until 1841.
Frances' half-brother inherited the estate in 1861. During the early C20
during the 1970's was converted into a private hotel. The house is often
associated with the Bronte family, but no direct links between the Bronte
and Richardson Currer families are known, apart from the family name
Haworth and the non-de-plume Currer Bell adopted by Charlotte Bronte.
Country Life, Volume 29, 1911, pp126 -135. T.D. Whittaker, History of
Craven, 1805, revised edition 1878, p214.
Listing NGR: SE0117946295
