Does anyone know why the current entrance to the Great Hall is so far above the ground?

The short answer to this question is no. In fact, many historical surveyors have commented on how they have given up trying to fathom why a lot of things were done in the manner they were during the Georgian Renovation of Middleton Hall!

The current front door has been in that location since the last phase of the Georgian Renovation, c.1759. Before that time, that location was actually part of the north wall of the 16th century first floor external Gallery Corridor. In the early phase of the Georgian Renovation, that wall was completely incorporated into the new larger Great Hall that we have today and then in the latter phase the staircases and door were added.

The “front” door could not have been a feature of the Gallery Corridor because it is both above and below the floor level of the Corridor. However, one interesting point that has been observed is that the lintel above the door (date of timber is uncertain) is at least level with the surviving lintel in that wall that was originally above the glazed windows that were present along the entire north wall of the Corridor. It cannot be discounted that the presence of that lintel partly explains the positioning of the door. A second possible reasoning relates to the Georgian staircase platform on the other side of the door, which tried to resolve the issues of the different building heights.

Framing of the 16th century Gallery Corridor at Middleton Hall from timbers present (dashed lines indicate missing timbers) within the north wall of the Great Hall at the time of restoration by Middleton Hall Trust, with modern front door location shown as a dotted line behind, 1993. Drawn by Stanley Jones.

The positioning of this front door becomes more complicated because, in the last phase of the Georgian Renovation, “the Grindstone Room” was also constructed. This was a single storey building constructed directly to the north of the Great Hall, which consequently meant that this “front” door was actually an internal door. Members of the de Hamel family have said that in their time a stone staircase led from the Grindstone Room to that “front” door. The door in their time was described as a double door made of heavy oak and more like an external than internal door.

Great Hall, c.1892. by J.H. Pickard.

The current front door became the front door during the ownership of John Averill following the demolition of the Grindstone Room building and the old Chapel. A new staircase in concrete was erected in the 1920s to this new front door. Its location and specifically its height was not altered. However, that unfortunately still does not provide a definite answer as to why it is so far off the ground … !

John & Jessie Averill, outside the front door of Middleton Hall, c.1950s. Photograph by Stanley Jones.

Question provided by - David Garrick-Titley.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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