The Dunkenhalgh is a country manor in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, on the outskirts of
Clayton-le-Moors
Clayton-le-Moors is an industrial town in the Borough of Hyndburn in the county of Lancashire, England. located two miles north of Accrington. The town has a population of 8,522 according to the 2011 census.
To the west lies Rishton, to the n ...
near the
river Hyndburn. Originally a large
country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
in
Tudor style, it was later converted into a hotel. It is grade II listed.
History
The name ''Dunkenhalgh'' comes from Roger de Dunkenhalgh who built the house by the end of the 12th century. In 1332 it came into the hands of the Rishton family who sold it to the Walmesley family in 1571.
In 1712 it passed to the
Petres. In 1947 the house was sold and converted into a hotel. The hall is currently owned by the Mercure Hotel chain.
Description of the house
The current building is described in its listing as substantially nineteenth-century but incorporating parts of c. 1600 construction.
It is built in
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
that is partly
rendered, it has roofs of
slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
with some stone-slate. There are two storeys, and the building has a complex T-shaped plan. The entrance front is
embattled
A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...
with five asymmetrical
bays
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
. There is a single-storey porch, and the outer bays form towers, the east tower having crow-stepped
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
s. On top of the building is a glazed circular lantern. There are several family portraits in the Portrait Room. Since 1950 the house has undergone many changes and extensions.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Clayton-le-Moors
References
Sources
*
*
{{Borough of Hyndburn buildings
Buildings and structures in Hyndburn
Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire