Building record MDR8710 - Ruin of Errwood Hall, Goyt Valley, Hartington Upper Quarter

Ruin of Errwood Hall, Goyt Valley, Hartington Upper Quarter, a country house possibly dating to the 1830s. 'A turreted stone double winged house built in the 1830s in an Italian villa style by Samuel Grimshaw. It had a central tower and a chapel which formed the upper storey of an extension to the north. The south front had two storeys with five bays and Venetian windows, whilst the centre had arched French windows which opened onto a terrace. The estate was sold to Stockport Corporation in 1930 and the house was occupied by the YHA until 1934, after which the house fell into desuetude.' (1) 'The ruins of Errwood Hall mostly comprise wall which are c1m high. After demolition in the 1930s it was made safe in the 1960s. The exceptional part of the ruins is a large portion of the southern wall which faced the garden. This stands to nearly the base of the first floor level and includes a door and three windows. Two are French windows flanking the door, the other is a three light Venetian window. Originally the house was three storeys and built in Italian villa style. It has three main wings around a courtyard. Although it is stated that it was constructed in the 1830s, it may have been in the 1840s as it does not appear on maps of 1836, c1840 and 1845. Errwood Hall was sold in 1930 and Stockport Corporation used it until 1934 as a youth hostel at which date it was abandoned, then demolished shortly after. At the south side of the hall are the earthworks of a small formal garden.' (2) Please see photographic record. (3-4) In 2022, an historic fabric building survey was carried out over the ruins, as the first part of a phased program of works to assess the condition of the remains. The main building, or villa, was described as follows: '…the ruins of Errwood Hall comprise of the Main Villa, which consisted of an east wing, west wing with these being joined by a cross wing, with a central courtyard or lightwell. Adjoined to this, to the north, was a service range and then the coach house and stables. The entrance frontage, faced east across the valley below, with the south aspect of the villa facing a plateau originally laid out with a formal garden. The exterior façades of the main villa were carved of rock faced ashlar courses. The extant elements of the villa elevations are capped by several upper courses of recycled ashlar. The internal areas are backfilled with soil and grassed covering. Features can be expected to have survived under this backfill including possible floor and wall surfaces, and a potential cellar complex but this has only been inferred there is no evidence from the survey. The principal entrance front at ground floor level comprises of a central bay with the door aperture still in-situ. At first floor level above the entrance, was a double window with segmental heads punctuated with pronounced voussoirs. Above, the exposed elevations of the top, second floor of the tower displayed blank arcades of three bays, with segmental heads, punctuated by a single conforming window to the east aspect. The entrance aperture itself was crowned with a stone tympanum bearing the carved armorial crest of the Grimshaw’s. This remains extant, relocated to the entrance hall interior. The remaining extant walls of these structural elements reach c1.8m in height. The south elevation of the east wing reaches c1.8m in height and encompasses the historic cill of a three bay Venetian window, the upper extent no longer in-situ. The south wall of the cross wing, which remains extant to first floor level (c3m), consists of a three-bay arrangement of round headed terrace height window apertures, the centre originally having contributed a door with steps. The voussoirs are fixed with iron staples, which can be seen in areas of damage. The south facing elevation of the west wing also survives to first floor level as the east wing does, with its three bay venetian window still in-situ. Historically, the south elevations of the west and east wings rose two storeys with pedimented gables below a shallow slate roof. The formal garden was laid out quadrangle with central feature, likely a fountain, and stone arch to the south prior a set of steps which ascended the western mound. The west elevation of the main villa is bounded by rising ground to the west, as noted being originally intended for construction of the apsidal Romanesque chapel. This area now is occupied by the Grimshaw family graveyard. A stepped stub of the west elevation remains in-situ at first floor level, supporting the surviving Venetian window of the west wing south facing elevation. The north elevations of the main villa historically flanked a rear, open area and also served, via the east wing, to link the main house with the service range. The back, north wall of the central cross wing bounds what is currently an open area. This is thought to have been historically either an open courtyard or a single storey interior space, either way it served as a light well to the windows facing it. Projecting north, flanking either side of the courtyard or lightwell, are the side or back walls of the east and west wings. These again are restricted to a height of c0.5m. The west wing appears to have terminated at its north elevation, a single possible door aperture identified within its face. The east wings north elevation adjoined the service range to the north. It may be expected that the villa had cellars, but this is inconclusive at present. The east entrance aperture was formerly topped with a stone tympanum bearing the carved armorial crest of the Grimshaw’s. This is still extant, having been relocated to the entrance hall interior. (5)