Description

NX 91 SE ST BEES CROSS HILL (South
side) St Bees

12/76 Manor Stead & house
adjoining to north
(previously listed as
Manor Stead & Cross
Hill Cottage)

9.3.67. II*

Hall house, now subdivided; Manor Stead was originally storied end and northern
property originally open Hall. On documentary evidence, built early C16 (pre
1517) by William Grindal; subdivided and remodelled C17. Outshut added to rear
of Manor Stead C19/early C20; former Hall remodelled 1983/84. Coursed, squared
rubble with quoins, now pebble-dashed. 45° graduated slate roof with stone
copings and ridge. Original mid-chimney rendered. C17 projecting stepped stone
chimney to rear of Hall. 2 storeys; Manor Stead 3 bays. Original chamfered
door surround to centre has round head. Chamfered stone-mullioned windows with
segment-headed lights. 2 of 3 lights to ground floor right are original;
others, except small one over door (re-used?), are C19/early C20 copies. On
south return, 3-light ground floor window and 2 lights of window above are
original. Hall's north gable retains original stone-mullioned window, with 2
segment-headed lights in chamfered surround, under hoodmould. All other
windows, except 1st floor right at rear, were inserted 1983/84. Full height
stair turret projects at left. Chamfered door surround with 4-centred head is
C17; moved in 1983 from extreme right of front where the rebate to top right of
lintel carried external stair to door above (both doors later blocked).
Internally, Manor Stead retains original 4 king-post roof trusses. Hall roof
has 5 trusses, Queen strut and 'A' frame (with moulded brackets) alternating; 3
northern bays originally open to roof. Moulded 4-centred fireplace arch to
ground floor rear wall has same mason's mark as C17 door surround. Grisaille
wall painting, with heraldic frieze showing Dacre supporters, datable to 1570-83
when Anne Grindal and her husband, William Dacre, lived here; paintings of
similar style and date survive in Dacre Hall (Lanercost Priory) and The Ashes
(Castle Sowerby). Moulded jambs of large window, probably traceried, survive
above frieze (tracery fragments built into later exterior wall). Party wall had
service door on left; similar door above into 2-bay 1st floor room or gallery.
1st floor extended and fireplace inserted in C17 after subdivision; stone newel
stair added later for internal access. Attic floor inserted and newel stair
carried up at later date. Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury, born here
1517 or 1519. Dating based on documentary research by John Todd, Solicitor, in
1983.

Listing NGR: NX9714311875

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17542589

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

• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)