Details
NZ 10 SW MARSKE MARSKE
9/75 Marske Hall
19.12.51
GV II*
Country house, now divided into flats. Late C16 or early C17, remodelled
and extended c1735, and with later alterations. For the Hutton family.
Rubble with ashlar dressings, stone slate roofs. Irregular plan. Main L-
shaped house of 3 storeys and basement, 2:5 bays, with 2-storey rear wing.
Main house, to right: ashlar plinth; flush quoins to right. In front of
central bay, external staircase with stone balusters, the central panel
projecting slightly, rusticated, containing a niche and with Vitruvian
scroll on string; central bay of rusticated ashlar, and with ground-floor
part-glazed leaved doors in architrave with tripartite keystone in doorcase
of unfluted Ionic engaged columns with entablature and broken pediment;
first-floor Ionic Venetian window with central tripartite keystone; second-
floor sash window in architrave. Sash windows in ashlar architraves,
smaller on second floor, with tripartite keystones on ground and first
floors. Modillion cornice. Ashlar parapet with panelled intervals marking
bays, and with half balusters over central bay. Roof hipped to right.
Ashlar stacks rise from behind first range of M roof. Wing to left projects
forward and is probably an C18 addition: ashlar plinth; chamfered rusticated
ashlar quoins; windows, cornice and parapet as before; hipped roof. Rear:
basement windows; large external stepped fireplace rising.from present
basement to left; to its right, Tuscan Venetian window at opposite end of
axial portrait gallery from that at front. Left return of left wing: 3
storeys, 2 bays. C20 terrace. Sash windows in ashlar architraves, that on
ground floor of first bay partly made into door; plainer cornice. Left
return of main house: 3 storeys and basement, 4 bays, plus inserted bay
linking up with rear range; part-glazed door in chamfered ashlar surround
leading to back stairs; sash windows in ashlar architraves, half size to
basement, three quarter size to second floor. Right return: 3 storeys, 3
bays. Part surrounds of large mullion-and-transom windows. Central part-
glazed leaved doors in probably early C19 plainer ashlar surround with
Tuscan pilasters below cornice with blocking above. Above it a round-arched
staircase window with Tuscan pilasters to side jambs, and tripartite
keystone to head. Other windows, cornice and parapet as front. Rear wing:
probably originally an early ancillary building: 2 storeys, 4 first-floor
windows. Between first and second first-floor windows, leaved part-glazed
door in ashlar architrave with tripartite keystone. Windows have ashlar
architraves, 32-pane sashes on ground floor, one to left of door and 2 to
right (with blocked doorway further to right) and tall 15-pane sashes on
first floor. Cornice. Shaped kneeler to left. Roof hipped to left.
Corniced ashlar stacks, 2 between first and second-first-floor windows and
one at right end. Rear: ground floor, from left: 2 sash windows with
glazing bars in plain ashlar surrounds; 6-panel door in ashlar architrave;
two C20 garage openings. First floor: five 15-pane sash windows in ashlar
architraves. Interior, main house: ground floor not inspected but room to
left of door has egg and dart motif on panelled window shutters and good
chimney-piece with coat of arms. Stairhall, with entrance in right return,
has early C18 oak staircase of expanding open-well plan with large richly-
carved balusters with barley-sugar twist above gadroon on upturned bell; the
ceiling has fine decorative plasterwork with face masks and ribbon motifs,
with rich cornice of modillions with acanthus leaves interspersed with
flowers; plaster panels on walls, those nearest window with eared
architraves. At the top of the stairs the door of 6 fielded panels has
eared architrave, pulvinated frieze and pediment, and gave access to
portrait gallery spanning house between Venetian windows. These have turned
balusters below Vitruvian scroll continued on dado rail, and fluted Ionic
columns. The staircase cornice is continued around the picture gallery.
The rooms to the front of the house have fielded panel doors and window
shutters, chair rails, fielded panels to wall, and dentil cornices. The 2
rooms off the picture gallery to the west were bedrooms; both have a bed
recess, with hooks in the ceiling for a tester, flanked by two closets: room
to south has walnut woodwork with red silk panels, 6-panel door in
architrave with acanthus leaf, and bayleaf-garland to pulvinated frieze;
overmantel with eared and shouldered egg-and-dart architrave, pulvinated
frieze and broken pediment, Vitruvian scroll to chair rail and dentil
cornice, both carried through closets, bed recess with segmental arch
supported on square Ionic pilasters; room to north has large bolection
panels to walls, and ogee-section cornice carried round closets. Two sets
of back stairs, running up to second floor, dogleg in plan, with column-on-
vase balusters.
Listing NGR: NZ1038200345
