Description

GILLING EAST MAIN STREET
SE 67 NW (west side, off)

6/38 Gilling Castle (previously listed
as Gilling Castle and Stable
4.1.55 Block)
I

Country house, now school. Tower house of late C14 with late C16
alterations possibly including the addition of wings, and extensive
remodelling of west front and wings in C18. Tower house built for Sir
Thomas Etton. Alterations of late C16 for Sir William Fairfax. Early C18
alterations by William Wakefield for 5th or 6th Viscount Fairfax. Limestone
rubble and ashlar. U-shaped with rectangular central section flanked by
wings running to west. East facade: tower house of 3 storeys and 4 bays
with canted bay to left and staircase turret in third'bay with plinth and
quoins. Blocked basket-arched door in angle of staircase turret which has
2-light square-headed double-chamfered mullion windows. First floor:
double-chamfered mullion windows with 2 levels of transom and continuous
hoodmoulds, of 9 lights to canted bay and 4 lights to second bay. Similar
windows to second floor with single transom. Evidence of blocked
fenestration to fourth bay. West front: 2 storeys and basement. 5-bay main
range with projecting wings with ends emphasised by canted bays to-west
front and return walls. Main range: basement has 6-pane sash to left and
6-fielded-panel door beneath divided overlight to right, flanking double-
flight staircase to entrance with pair of keyed oculi beneath entrance.
2 bands, the upper one forming continuous sill to ground floor windows.
Ground floor: half-glazed fielded-panel door beneath tall divided overlights
in Gibbs surround with attached Ionic columns supporting plain pediment.
Unequal 15-pane sashes in Gibbs surrounds. First floor: 6-pane sashes, that
to centre in eared and shouldered architrave. Band carrying parapet with
blind panels surmounted by 6 urns, articulating the bays. Similar details
to wings. Interior: basement retains late C14 plan with central barrel-
vaulted corridor and pointed doorways. East door, formerly external,
carries 6 shields bearing Etton arms and retains a groove for a portcullis.
The Great Chamber above is an impressive example of Elizabethan crafts-
manship with marquetry panelling, painted frieze showing the arms of the
gentlemen of Yorkshire, imposing carved 3-stage chimney piece bearing
Fairfax achievement of arms and elaborate pendant boss ribbed plaster
ceiling. Windows contain heraldic stained glass and are signed Bernard
Dirickhoff, dated 1585. Other C16 features include a carved wooden chimney
piece in the classroom to the right of the main entrance hall, and a massive
queen-strut roof in the south wing suggesting an origin earlier than
C18 for this part of the building. Of the C18 work the entrance hall and
eastern rooms of the north wing probably date from about 1715 while the
western rooms are probably about 20 years later. The Hall is Vanbrugian in
character and is comparable with Beningborough and Duncombe. It is probably
by William Thornton of York. To the centre of each wall are paired:
Corinthian columns carrying arches except to the south where there is a
chimneypiece. Elaborate plasterwork with swags and shell motifs by Cortese.
Stair hall containing open string staircase with elaborately carved
balusters. Room to north of Great Chamber has corner chimneypiece
characteristic of early C18 and paralleled at Beningborough. The rest of
the interior decoration of the north wing is of the later date with fine
moulded wainscots, enriched ceiling friezes and carved wooden fireplaces and
overdoors. The original interior of the long gallery of the same date was
removed and sold in 1929 and the room now contains panelling by Thompson of
Kilburn. The south-west drawing room has a fine carved chimneypiece and a
western recess frame by an Ionic twin-columned recess. Anon "Gilling
Castle" n.d. Guide Book. J. Bilson "Gilling Castle" in Yorkshire
Archaeological Journal Volume 19. Anon "Gilling Castle" Country Life, Sep
28, 1908. National Trust "Beningborough Hall" 1980 Guide Book. Pevsner N.
"Yorkshire: the North Riding" 1966. Tipping and Hussey "Gilling Castle" in
English Homes Period IV" Volume II 1928.

Listing NGR: SE6113376794

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Gilling Castle at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5562352

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)