Branthwaite Hall

Branthwaite Hall was built near the village of Branthwaite and the town of Cockermouth in the mid-15th century by the Skelton family, who acquired the surrounding manor from the Branthwaites by marriage.[3] The new building was constructed from rubble stone with a single tower with a parapet and a spiral-stair turret, with an adjacent hall.[2] The hall was 60 feet long and 42 wide (18 metres by 13 metres), but was largely remodelled in 1604; the new hall is a single space, whereas it was probably originally subdivided, and additional windows were added.[2] Subsequent work was conducted in the 1670s to give the property a grander appearance.[2] The Skeltons held the hall until 1757.[2]

It was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1967.[1]

Branthwaite Hall was restored between 1985 and 1986 by the National Coal Board, which converted the property into offices.[4] It is considered by historian Anthony Emery to be "one of the best-preserved early houses in Cumbria".[2]

• Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
• List of castles in England

• Emery, Anthony. (1996) Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Northern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-49723-7.
• Pettifer, Adrian. (2002) English Castles: a Guide by Counties. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-0-85115-782-5.