Wharton Hall
Has been described as a Certain Fortified Manor House
There are uncertain remains
| Name | Wharton Hall |
| Alternative Names | |
| Historic Country | Westmorland |
| Modern Authority | Cumbria |
| 1974 Authority | Cumbria |
| Civil Parish | Wharton |
Wharton Hall (Plate 156), at the N. end of the parish, is partly of two and partly of three storeys; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are slate-covered. The house belonged to the Wharton family down to the 18th century. The main block, consisting of a hall with two cross-wings, was built late in the 14th or early in the 15th century. A new great hall with a kitchen beyond it was added, to the S.E. of the earlier house, c. 1540, by Thomas, Lord Wharton. The gatehouse and the N.W. range were added c. 1559, though the small building adjoining this range is probably of earlier date. The original block became ruinous and was restored by Lord Lonsdale c. 1785 and with the N.W. range was converted into a farm-house. The later great hall and gatehouse range are now in ruins.
The house is an interesting example of the larger mediæval and later houses of the county.
The buildings surround an irregular courtyard (Plate 157) with the original block and later hall on the N.E. side and the gatehouse opposite. The S.W. front of the original block has an embattled parapet and the N.W. wing is of three storeys; the windows are mostly of the 16th century and of three, four and five four-centred lights in square heads with moulded labels; the middle window of the N.W. wing is probably an enlargement of the 18th century. Adjoining and of the same height as the S.E. wing is a two-storeyed porch, but the original doorway has been replaced by a 16th-century window and the upper window has been replaced by a doorway approached by an 18th-century or modern staircase. At the back of the original block, the two wings are gabled; on this side there are a number of smaller 16th-century and perhaps earlier windows and a window of c
1700 lighting the staircase; at the S.E. end is a small annexe, perhaps a garde-robe tower. Inside the original block, the ground-floor of the S.E. wing has barrel-vaulting and is entered from the main block by two original doorways with shouldered lintels; one of these opens into a corridor crossing the wing and presumably communicating with the early kitchen; the thick wall between the main block and part of this wing may enclose a wall-staircase as is usual in houses of the period, but no signs of openings are now apparent. The ground-storey of the former porch has a barrelvault and a 16th-century flat-headed inner doorway. In the N.W. wing is a staircase of c. 1700 with turned balusters, partly modern, and square panelled newels with moulded pendants. The 16th-century Great Hall is much ruined; the hall itself appears to have stood on an undercroft presumably with a wooden floor as there is no trace of vaulting; the wall towards the court has mostly disappeared except for traces of a doorway at the S.E. end. The outer wall is better preserved and retains the moulded jamb of a large fireplace at the hall-level; further to the S.E. are remains of a projecting bay or chamber; at the lower level are remains of two loop-lights. The Great Kitchen (
Condition—Of inhabited part, good; of rest, ruined. (RCHME 1936)
Originated as a tower and hall house of circa 1415, extended with a banqueting hall and kitchen circa 1540. A gatehouse, West wing (including Long Gallery and chapel) were added circa 1559. Restored in 1785 after several years as a ruin, the North-East and West ranges now form a farm, the rest is ruinous. (PastScape–ref. Perriam and Robinson)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law
Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | NY770062 |
| Latitude | 54.4507713317871 |
| Longitude | -2.35489010810852 |
| Eastings | 377080 |
| Northings | 506200 |
