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]