Strickland, Little

97 STRICKLAND, LITTLE (D.c.)

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)VIII, S.W., ^(b)XIV, N.W.)

Little Strickland is a small parish and village 3 m. N. of Shap. Low Hall is the principal monument.

Ecclesiastical

^b(1). Parish Church of St. Mary, formerly a chapel of Morland, was re-built on a new site in 1814. It contains, from the older building, the following:—

Fittings—Bell: one, inaccessible but perhaps mediæval. Seating: Pews of late 17th-century panelling made up with 18th-century work; some panels inscribed with initials of holders and dated 1696, 1700 [16]96, etc. Miscellanea: Re-set in porch—inscribed stone recording the restoration of the chapel by Thomas Fletcher. The stone is dated 1695 but the restoration seems to have taken place in 1681.

Secular

^b(2). Low Hall (Plate 17), house and outbuilding 100 yards S.E. of the church. The House is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are slate-covered. It is said to have been built by a member of the Crackanthorpe family and dates from the second half of the 16th century. The S. wing was added perhaps early in the 17th century; the N. wing is a rather later addition.

The plaster-work is noteworthy and well preserved.

The main block retains most of its original mullioned windows with moulded labels; some of them are of three and four transomed lights. On the S. wall is a defaced panel, said to have borne the Crackanthorpe arms. The original windows of the two wings are of simpler form. The W. doorway of the S. wing has a two-centred head and label and is perhaps of earlier date re-set. Inside the building, the former hall, in the middle of the main block, has a stone fireplace with a wide segmental arch. The W. room has an original plaster ceiling (Plates 48, 50) with moulded ribs forming an elaborate geometrical design; the panels are enriched with roses, strawberry plants and thistles; one panel has a cartouche with a blank shield; the beam dividing the ceiling into two bays is plastered, panelled and enriched with various devices. On the E. side of the room is a mid 17th-century panelled partition. The W. room on the first floor has an original frieze and plastered ceiling-beam; the frieze is enriched with arabesques, masks, birds and grotesque beasts; the beam has similar enrichment and running foliage and flowers on the sides. The walls are lined with mid 17th-century panelling and there is a fireplace with a triangular head. The S. wing has exposed ceiling-beams and two 17th-century fireplaces. The doorway from the main block has been inserted in an earlier window.

The Outbuilding, W. of the house, is probably of the 17th century and retains a doorway and windows of that period, now blocked.

Condition—Good.

Monuments (3–10)

The following monuments, unless otherwise described, are of the 17th century and of two storeys; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are slate-covered. Some of the buildings have exposed ceiling-beams.

Condition—Good or fairly good.

^b(3). Outbuilding, adjoining house 90 yards N.W. of the church, incorporates a re-set door-head with the initials and date T. and M.G. 1693.

^b(4). Church View, house 100 yards S. of the church, has a panel with re-cut initials (O?) and I.H. and altered remains of a date.

^b(5). Long House, 150 yards S.E. of (4), has a re-set doorway with the initials and date R.B.M. 1687 on the head.

^b(6). High Hall, house and outbuilding 100 yards S.S.E. of (5). The House was built c. 1600 and retains most of its original stone windows, those on the ground-floor, with moulded labels; the doorway has a triangular arch in a square head. Inside the building, a fireplace has a wide segmental arch flanked by panels with the arms of Crackanthorpe and the initials and date C.C. 1600. A second fireplace (Plate 41) has the same arms with the words "Deus Verus" and the initials C.B.C. on the lintel. The original spiral stone staircase remains. The Outbuilding, S.E. of the house, was built c. 1700.

^b(7). Cottage, on the E. side of the road 280 yards S.E. of the church, has an early 18th-century fireplace with a corbelled head.

^b(8). Greyhound Inn, 90 yards N.W. of (7), has been largely re-built. The adjoining outbuilding has a doorway with the initials and date A. and I.D. 1711 above the head. Re-set in a barn is a four-centred door-head with foliage in the spandrels.

^a(9). Thrimby Mill, house 1,100 yards N.N.W. of the church, was re-built c. 1700, and retains some altered original windows.

^a(10). Sandriggs, house nearly 1 m. N. of the church, retains its original stone windows on the E. front. The doorway from the barn is original, as is the door with strap-hinges.

Unclassified

^b(11). Earthworks, 150 yards W. of the church, consist of a slight bank forming a rectangular enclosure 70 yards by 31 yards. At the N. end is a smaller enclosure and there is a third, detached and lying to the N.E. The site is possibly mediæval.