Porch House, Northallerton
Porch House is a historic building in Northallerton, a town in North Yorkshire, in England.
The building was constructed in 1584 for Richard Metcalfe, with an open hall. A wing was added to the rear right in the mid 17th century, then in 1684 a large two-storey porch was added, giving the house its name. In the late 17th century, a floor was inserted in the hall, then in 1781 the building was extensively altered, the work including the addition of a range to the left, and the replacement of the thatched roofs with pantiles. In 1844, the building was further altered, and the porch was demolished and replaced with a single-storey structure. Perhaps at this time, the house was divided into three properties. Railings were installed in front of the house, to protect it during the town's cattle market.[1]
Local tradition claims that Charles I of England stayed in the house in 1640 and then was imprisoned there in 1647 before being handed over to Oliver Cromwell. A local legend claims that a secret tunnel connects the house with All Saints' Church, Northallerton, but no tunnel has been discovered.[2]
The Metcalfe family later became the Marwood family, and owned the house until 1988. It was marketed for sale in 2009, for £500,000. It has since operated as a guest house.[3][4] It has been grade II listed since 1969.[1]
The house has a timber framed core, it is enclosed in brick, and has a pantile roof. It has two storeys, a range of four bays, and a projecting cross-wing on the left with a hipped roof. In the centre of the main range is a single-storey sandstone porch containing a doorway with an ogee-shaped lintel, and a coped gable with a finial. The windows are a mix of horizontally-sliding sashes and casements. The cross-wing contains a two-storey canted bay window and a doorway to the right. In front of the house are wrought iron railings on a low wall.[1][5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Porch House and front railings, Northallerton (1150738)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
- ^ Powers, Andrew Graham (2020). Secret Northallerton. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445696973.
- ^ "Chance to buy house used by King Charles I". Northern Echo. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
- ^ "History". Porch House. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
- ^ Grenville, Jane; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2023) [1966]. Yorkshire: The North Riding. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-25903-2.