Yorkshire Vernacular Buildings Study Group

The cover of YVBSG Newsletter No 121, November 2025.

Our November Newsletter is hot off the press! Catch up with all our latest news, including plans for next year - www.yvbsg.org.uk/newsheet.html.

Lower Birks Farm, Crossley New Road, Todmorden - TAL00248 · Pennine Horizons Digital Archive An online digital archive of many collections covering Yorkshire, Lancashire and the South Pennines.

An old photo of the doorway can be found at penninehorizons.org/items/show/2....

Former arched doorway at Lower Birks, now a window.

The 1664 datestone at Lower Birks.

View of the gable wall at Lower Birks.

#AdoorableThursday Former door at Lower Birks, near Todmorden, with 1664 datestone.

Moulton Hall near Richmond was rebuilt on the site of a previous building in the mid 17th century for the Smithson family. Perhaps it's most interesting owner though was Sir Ralph Millbanke who sold it when his daughter made a disastrous marriage to Lord Byron.

Door with decorative doorhead dated 1731 at Foredale Farm.

Close view of 1731 doorhead at Foredale Farm.

View of Foredale Farm, with sheep trotting past, taken from the public footpath.

#AdoorableThursday Foredale Farm, Helwith Bridge, North Yorkshire.

How cute is this little shop front? Bridlington Old Town right now.

Small window in quatrefoil stone surround at Hallbridge Farmhouse, Clayton.

View of Hallbridge Farmhouse, Clayton.

#WindowsOnWednesday Window at Hallbridge Farmhouse, Clayton with Frickley, Doncaster. historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-...

Lovely! Also a chance for us to shamelessly plug our publication 'Doorways in the Dales' - details at www.yvbsg.org.uk/publications....

The gatehouse at Bolton Percy dates back to the late 15th/early 16th century albeit with later alterations and restoration.

The gatehouse at Bolton Percy dates back to the late 15th/early 16th century albeit with later alterations and restoration.

The gatehouse at Bolton Percy dates back to the late 15th/early 16th century albeit with later alterations and restoration. Tucked away by the former Crown pub it once led to a courtyard with a medieval barn and rectory buildings. Photos © Gordon Hatton (cc-by-sa/2.0) Geograph

We are looking at a black and white photo of the very top of the Great Hall roof. It is a series of triangles heading off into the distance creating a puzzling pattern.

You are now entering the twilight zone…

…not really…or really? No it’s in fact the topper most part of the Great Hall.

It’s not often these timbers get seen so we’re giving them some well deserved attention today. 👏

Gable at North Elmsall Old Hall.

Wing at North Elmsall Old Hall.

Wing at North Elmsall Old Hall.

More views of North Elmsall Old Hall, South Yorkshire. historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-...

Mullion and transom window at North Elmsall Old Hall, partly blocked with brick.

#WindowsOnWednesday Partly blocked mullion and transom window at North Elmsall Old Hall, South Yorkshire, in wing now used as farm building. The couple of rows of stone slate at the eaves below the pantiles are a local feature. Walling of Magnesian Limestone.

Stile into churchyard, Horton in Ribblesdale.

Lychgate Cottage, Horton in Ribblesdale.

Building adjacent to churchyard, Horton in Ribblesdale.

Large external stack on building next to churchyard, Horton in Ribblesdale.

Horton in Ribblesdale churchyard provides a good view of the surrounding buildings of interest - and a fine stile too!

Local stone was quarried and used for construction, creating the characteristic vernacular architecture of villages like Horton in Ribblesdale. The
view is across the churchyard next to the village church with the top of Pen y Ghent visible above the roofs of the houses.

Doorway at Bolton Dene, West Witton.

Door lintel at Bolton Dene, West Witton.

Front view of Bolton Dene, West Witton.

#AdoorableThursday Bolton Dene, West Witton, North Yorkshire.

Picture shows a mud and stud smokehood exposed when the thatch was removed. It is made of timber and earth walling, but has been cut off below the ridge line. It originally served two fireplaces. The rafters and ridge-piece are much altered, but bits of the reed under-lining of the ceiling within survive

Really looking forward to speaking at the 'Counting Chimneys - The Hearth Tax in Lincolnshire' conference on the 25th. Everyone is welcome, book in now! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/counting-c...

Dairy window in Hurstwood, Lancashire.

Dairy window in Old Chamber, West Yorkshire.

Dairy window in Cropton, North Yorkshire.

Dairy window in Eastwood, West Yorkshire.

#WindowsOnWednesday Some workroom windows, including dairies and cheese rooms, were exempt from window tax if clearly labelled as such.

The Manor House, Micklethwaite is perhaps more complex than it first appears. Built in stone—a common choice in the North of England, where timber was scarce but stone plentiful

The Manor House, Micklethwaite is perhaps more complex than it first appears. Built in stone—a common choice in the North of England, where timber was scarce but stone plentiful it follows a traditional two-cell, two-storey plan. The left-hand half dates from the late

House in Low Moor surveyed by the YVBSG in May 2025.

Join us on Saturday 18 October at our follow-up day to hear about buildings we recorded in the south Bradford area in May. We'll also have a walk around the historic buildings of Wibsey. Everybody welcome! Booking details at www.yvbsg.org.uk/events.html.

The ornate porch at Greenwood Lee house.

Finial at Greenwood Lee.

#FinialsOnFriday Greenwood Lee, Heptonstall, a yeoman clothier's house dated 1712 on the porch.

Geology in Hooton Pagnell Technical English for geologists, restorers, architects and stone suppliers

You can find lots of useful info about Hooton Pagnell's building stone at thelanguageofstone.blogspot.com/2024/02/geol....

Barn door at Hooton Pagnell, South Yorkshire.

#AdoorableThursday Door in a barn wall in Hooton Pagnell, South Yorkshire. Walling of local Magnesian limestone with triangular and rectangular ventilation holes.

A small stone barn with a tiled roof stands in a lush green field, surrounded by dry stone walls. In the background, rolling hills and scattered trees stretch across the landscape under a clear blue sky.

Ancient drystone walls and field barns are defining features of the Dales landscape - shaped over thousands of years by people and nature. There are over 5,000 miles of drystone walls in the National Park.

#YorkshireDales #TuesdayThoughts

Finial at Lee Farmhouse, Lumbutts.

View of Lee Farmhouse, Lumbutts, with finial on gable.

#FinialsOnFriday Lee Farmhouse, Lumbutts, West Yorkshire. A door lintel on the house has an inscribed date of 1584.

And the door opens to the darkness within ...

Doorway with decorative stone doorhead comprising two protruding cones.

#AdoorableThursday Doorway in the range of farm buildings at Birthwaite Hall, near Barnsley.

Window with ornate hoodmould and pigeon holes above at the Old Manor House, Clapham.

#WindowsOnWednesday The Old Manor House, Clapham, North Yorkshire. Upper floor of porch.

One of Holmfirth's oldest buildings Th'Owd Towser has been a jail, mortuary and fire station amongst other things.

Next Saturday what is possibly one of Holmfirth's oldest buildings Th'Owd Towser is open for Heritage Open Day. In its time it has been a jail, mortuary and fire station amongst other things. Dating back to around 1597 it has been rebuilt at times including in the 19th

Pencil drawing of a brick building with a large shop window adorned with curtains and goods. Next door is a three storey timber framed building with a modern shop window. Two people are passing the shops on a pavement.

York Ghost Merchants, Shambles, York. A shop in a house built in the 1770s. Next door is an early 16th century building rebuilt in the 1960s.

@yvbsg.bsky.social #ArchitecturalIllustration
#pencil #drawing
#ArtYear

Watercolour sketch of a doorway of a timber framed building. To the right an exploded view of the components of the doorway.

The doorway to the passage from Shambles to the market at 37 Shambles, York for #ADoorableThursday. Drawn on site & then coloured in and taken apart with a pencil later.

#ArchitecturalIllustration
#drawing #sketchbook
#ArtYear