Well Hall

Has been described as a Questionable Fortified Manor House

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameWell Hall
Alternative Names
Historic CountryYorkshire
Modern AuthorityNorth Yorkshire
1974 AuthorityNorth Yorkshire
Civil ParishWell

House. Early C14, C17 and c18. Rubblestone and ashlar, rendered with graduated stone slate roof. Plan: to left, original C14 hall house with vaulted undercroft, of 3 storeys, 2 bays by 3 bays; set back to right C18 three-storey, 4-bay wing. Quoins. To left-hand bay of C18 wing a 6-panel door with 2 top panels glazed. Bay to right and to far right have tripartite sashes with central 4-pane sashes. Above to these bays are sashes with glazing bars and above again are 6-pane sashes. Bay above door and to left of right bay have blind openings to each floor. 2 ridge stacks and end stack to right. Medieval house has two 16-pane 2-light side-sliding sashes to ground floor. First floor has 2 tall sashes with glazing bars and Gothick pointed-arched heads set in original C14 pointed-arched openings with continuous hoodmould. Second floor: central side-sliding sash with glazing bars. Hipped roof, side wall stack. Rear: medieval hall has deep moulded first-floor string course. To side is a thin blind chamfered rectangular opening to rear staircase. Interior: C18 wing has early C18 dogleg staircase with thick turned balusters, up to attic storey, probably reset. Medieval wing has 3-bay vaulted undercroft with chamfered ribs supported on round piers with octagonal capitals and moulded corbels. Moulded 4-centred arched fireplace to north. To east end is a tunnel between end wall and outside wall. This supports a staircase above, possibly original to the building. On the first floor C18 rooms were inserted where the large hall was. In the third storey can be seen the heads of the two C13 windows. On the wall of the right return can be seen a blocked C13 window similar to the other two but complete with its central mullion and tracery in the head of the window. The roof trusses to this part are C17. The hall probably dates from 1342, when a Hospital of St Richard was founded at Well. It was probably housed in the building until the present almshouses were built in 1758

(Listed Building Report)

Gatehouse Comments

Ingham list this as a fortified house and writes 'with evidence from its vaulted undercroft to features in its fabric of the original C13 fortified manor house." Gatehouse can find nothing to suggest this medieval manor house was fortified.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

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 ReferenceSE267820
Latitude54.2331085205078
Longitude-1.59110999107361
Eastings426750
Northings482010
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p. 27

Other

  • Clarke, A., 06/1998. Archaeological Watching Brief and Excavations at Well Hall, Well, Near Bedale