Appendix 5: Identifying and using local building styles

Contents

5.1 Introduction

Identifying and using local building styles helps to strengthen local distinctiveness and identity, whilst adding value to the design to ensure that it responds appropriately to its historic and contextual settings. Applicants undertaking a Local Character and Context Assessment (Code 1.3c and Guidance: 1.2g) should take account of Appendix 5, as listed under Code: 1.35c, Guidance: 1.5g, and Guidance: 3.49g within the Wakefield District Design Code.

The Wakefield District Design Code sets key foundations and principles for designing new buildings and places. It ensures that the surrounding local context and existing parameters are taken into full consideration. By understanding the character of the place, new developments can feel like a natural part of their surroundings. There is no single style or formula that always works, whether that is trying to imitate historic styles or provide a contemporary contrast. What matters most is taking the time to understand the local context and making thoughtful design choices to improve design quality.

The character of different areas across the district is recognisable through the area’s built and natural environment. This contributes to people feeling a sense of connection and identity with the places they live and work in. It also fosters a connection with the area’s heritage, through an appreciation of its historic character, industry and people.

The challenge for designers and builders of all scales, often working across many towns and regions, is to identify the key qualities for each place and to use these in a way that is appropriate to a modern development.

Historically, the abundance of local quarries, brickworks and timber yards meant most building materials travelled short distances to reach a development site. Using local stone or clay led to a universality of colours and local craftspeople supplied their own flair or individual way of doing things. These local characteristics brought distinctiveness to a place. In contrast, a modern red brick is now factory made and is very different to the handmade bricks of the past. Other materials may be sourced from across the UK and abroad. It can therefore be more difficult to provide new places with the same richness and diversity as in the past.

This appendix aims to help demonstrate the variety of materials, architectural details and building forms that have traditionally been used in different parts of the Wakefield district.

These differences can be subtle but are essential in making up the varying local character of settlements across the district. When combined carefully and meaningfully, these elements will assist all new developments in making a positive contribution to the places in which they sit.

5.2 Local Historic Character Areas identified across the district

Illustrates a map that demonstrates a broad study of local historic character areas identified across the district of Wakefield which have been divided by character area, consisting of four colours, including numbered areas, with additional letters for identified sub-areas.

Figure 268: Shows a map illustrating a broad study of local historic character areas, Wakefield District

The provided map illustrates a broad study of local historic character areas identified across the district. An area description has been provided for each area identified within the study, along with details of the typical materials and architectural forms you will find there.

This has been detailed in the next section of this appendix as follows:

  • Area 1: Wakefield City Centre and northern suburbs

  • Area 2a: Gawthorpe, Ossett, Horbury, Middlestown, Netherton, Overton, and Durkar

  • Area 2b: West Bretton, Woolley, Chapelthorpe, Newmillerdam, Sandal, and Notton

  • Area 2c: Walton, Crofton, Sharlston, and Ryhill

  • Area 3a: Castleford, Normanton, Whitwood, Altofts, Sharlston Common, Featherstone, and Pontefract (Northern Coalfield)

  • Area 3b: Ackworth, Thorpe Audlin, Wentbridge, Badsworth, East Hardwick, Nostell, and Featherstone (Went River Basin)

  • Area 3c: Hemsworth, South Hiendley, South Elmsall, South Kirkby, Kinsley, and Havercroft (Southeast Coalfield)

  • Area 4: Knottingley, Darrington, and North Elmsall (Limestone Ridge)

5.3 Area 1: Wakefield City Centre and northern suburbs

Area description

Wakefield has grown from an important and wealthy medieval market town and inland port trading initially in wool and tanning products and later in grain. The waterways and large coal fields enabled Wakefield to thrive during the Industrial Revolution and many of the City’s familiar landmark buildings were constructed during this period for governmental, administrative, and commercial uses. Historically separate villages such as Wrenthorpe, Alverthorpe and Outwood have gradually joined through residential development in the 19th and 20th centuries, but retain a core where the historic character can be appreciated.

A detached stone house with three windows to the first floor and a central door with windows either side on the ground floor. In front of the house is a garden surrounded by a stone wall and hedging.

Figure 269: Shows a high-status house in coursed sandstone with stone detailing

A close-up photo of the first floor and roof of a terraced house. The house is made of red brick, with white sash windows. There is a line of brick detailing just under the slate roof.

Figure 270: Shows a red-brick terraced home in Outwood, with stone detailing and brick corbels to the eaves

Materials

  • Pennine Coal Measures sandstone for high-status and visibly older buildings

  • red brick with stone detailing for the majority of buildings

Form and architectural details

  • tends to be coursed stonework, rather than rubble or irregular coursing

  • simple terrace forms for housing

Stand-out area: St John’s

  • a formal urban area centred around the residential St Johns Square, where higher-density historic terraced development lines the edges of the square and contrasts with the green, landscaped centre

Stand-out area: Eastmoor estate

  • a suburban area with a layout inspired by the Garden City movement, and characterised by curving streets, open green spaces, mature planting, and red brick and render semi-detached housing

Further detailed research on the Eastmoor estate can be found via the Harrison Architectural Heritage website.

5.4 Area 2a: Gawthorpe, Ossett, Horbury, Middlestown, Netherton and Durkar

Area description

This area in the far west of the district is a combination of rural areas, small towns and villages which include early industrial remnants. There was significant expansion in the industrial revolution particularly around Ossett, Horbury and Horbury Bridge. The wealth of these areas in the 19th century is evident in features such as attractive Victorian villas, ornate commercial buildings and Ossett’s impressive market square.

A row of three terraced houses. The houses are built of stone and are of two storeys with a small dormer window to each house. In front of the house are small gardens with a stone wall to the front and a hedge behind.

Figure 271: An example of distinctive slim coursed sandstone with stone dressings on the houses and regularly coursed squared sandstone to the boundary wall with gate piers, Prospect Road, Ossett

Materials

  • late 19th century factory made smooth, dark red brick reflecting mining heritage

  • Pennine Coal Measures sandstone

  • regularly coursed, tooled sandstone blocks

  • sandstone boundary walling with flat, half round, triangular and half octagonal coping

  • rubble boundary walling

  • stone flag roofs and Welsh and Westmoreland slate

  • slim coursed sandstone walling often with red-brick gables

  • ashlar sandstone

  • handmade red / orange brick predating 19th century

  • pre-industrial timber framing (Horbury)

Form and architectural details

  • stone eaves detailing, door hoods, door and window surrounds and window heads and cills, often elaborate

  • use of stone quoins

  • stone bay windows

  • stone gate posts, half round tops and carved stone

  • legacy of former chapels, mills, warehouses, co-operative societies, schools, pubs often with landmark value

  • keystones, stone cornicing, string courses and projecting chimney stacks to high-status buildings

  • corner entrances, pediments (segmental and triangular) on commercial buildings

  • uniformity of terraces often with building line onto the pavement

  • some pre-industrial surviving farmsteads

  • medieval street pattern (Horbury)

  • contribution to local economy and character of working and renovated mills (Ossett)

5.5 Area 2b: West Bretton, Woolley, Chapelthorpe, Newmillerdam, Sandal, and Notton

Area description

Although located in the southwest coalfield landscape character area, the majority of the historic buildings and villages in this area are of a primarily agricultural/ rural character. There are also a number of estate villages such as West Bretton and Woolley, with a high-status hall, parkland, home farm and estate cottages. Sandal has a slightly different character to the rest of the area as a result of more extensive residential development in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The entrance to the visitor centre at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park has a large metal and glass entrance. To the right hand side is a two storey sandstone wall and to the left is a modern style wall with metal, timber and glass.

Figure 272: Shows a new development referencing local stone used in the locality

A close-up photo of a dry stone wall with grass in front and a blue sky above.

Figure 273: Captures drystone walling detail, at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton

To the left of this image is a historic stone barn which has been converted to a dwelling. The barn is two storeys and have a steep pitched gable on to the road. To the right is a new house which is of a similar stone and two storeys. This building has the roof line parallel to the road so the tiled roof can be seen.

Figure 274: An example of a contextual development with a former farmstead, Applehaigh Lane, Notton

Materials

  • red handmade brick with stone dressings in pre-mid-19th century buildings

  • Pennine Coal Measures sandstone

  • dry and mortared stone walling

  • sandstone walling with stone window and door surrounds

  • squared sandstone, often varying course depths within one elevation

  • rock-faced sandstone in later Victorian and Edwardian buildings

  • stone flag and Welsh and Westmoreland slate roofs

Form and architectural details

  • estate village (West Bretton)

  • historic farmsteads

  • stone mullions in pre-industrial era buildings

  • use of kneelers and quoins

  • use of stone quoins, often with slim stone coursing or coursing of varying depths

  • mature tree cover

  • rustic, simple stone detailing to window heads, jambs and cills

5.6 Area 2c: Walton, Crofton, Sharlston and Ryhill

Area description

This part of the district is also located in the southwest coalfield landscape character area. It is a combination of pre-19th century rural settlements and remnants of industrial activity, particularly coal and metal extraction. Important early industrial sites at Sharlston Common are protected as a scheduled monument.

A long, historic barn building. The left-hand part of the building is of red brick and two-stories. It has very narrow slit windows and a large cart opening which has been glazed to create a window. The right-hand part of the building is of stone and is one storey.

Figure 275: Shows handmade brick and coursed stone converted farm buildings, The Green, Sharlston

A long row of terraced houses, viewed from the opposite side of the road. The houses are red brick, with some narrow stone bands running through. The houses have small front yards with a combination of stone walls and timber fences in front.

Figure 276: Showcases late 19th-century red-brick terraces, with stone detailing, Crofton

A pair of stone, two-storey houses. The stone is a dark grey colour and the houses have blue-grey slate roofs. The houses have a gravel driveway in front, behind a stone wall with hedging above.

Figure 277: Shows a variety of 18th and 19th-century stone buildings, Walton

Materials

  • stone for early and pre-19th century buildings

  • late 19th century smooth red brick in former mining areas

  • stone flag roofs

  • Welsh and Westmoreland slate roofs

  • tooled, squared sandstone

  • mortared stone boundary walling with squared and half round coping

  • handmade red brick (Sharlston)

  • pre-industrial timber framing (Sharlston)

  • rock-faced sandstone in later Victorian and Edwardian buildings

Form and architectural details

  • use of stone kneelers

  • stone detailing

  • brick chimney stacks on stone buildings

  • projecting flues on gables

5.7 Area 3a: Castleford, Normanton, Whitwood, Altofts, Sharlston Common, Featherstone and Pontefract (Northern Coalfield)

Area description

As a result of the convergence of the Rivers Aire and Calder Castleford became an important Roman station, however, much of the rich heritage is now buried around the centre. The town’s character is, for many, that of a mining town. In recent years economic growth has been achieved through its retail and distribution centres.

Normanton and Featherstone grew from agrarian beginnings, primarily around mineral extraction. The arrival of the railways and the opening of large collieries in the area led to a large growth in population and an associated boom in residential development.

The market town of Pontefract grew from a medieval settlement on the strategic site of the Castle. The town centre is densely packed with historic buildings, which are organised around a complex sequence of market squares and streets.

A close-up view of a semi-detached house, built of red brick with stone detailing around the windows at ground and first floor.

Figure 278: An example of characteristic arched window head and stone banding detail on a property, Altofts

A view of a red brick house with an arched front door and stone detailing around the windows and door. The ground floor has a bay window.

Figure 279 :An example of arched door heads and stone window surrounds on a property, Altofts

An oblique view of a row of new-built terraced houses. The houses are red brick with stone headers and cills to the windows and front door. The houses look similar in style to the historic examples in figures 277 and 278.

Figure 280: Demonstrates a good example of contemporary terraced housing by referencing simple brick and stone detailing and vertical proportions to the windows, Pope Street, Altofts

Materials

  • majority of buildings are red brick, with individual (either older or higher status) buildings in stone or render

  • varied brick patterns and the utilisation of different coloured bricks, particularly in Normanton

  • brickwork with feature stone banding

Form and architectural details

  • arched window and door heads are a common feature in Altofts, Castleford and Featherstone

  • terraced forms are common, especially in the larger settlements, but also along main roads through the area

  • brick patterns and detailing give depth and interest to residential as well as landmark buildings

  • shallow pitch slate roofs punctuated by stone chimney stacks characterise the roofscape

  • characterful housing developments have small, shared greens in addition to small front gardens

  • densely packed historic buildings, enclosed streets and wide public spaces characterise Pontefract town centre, where the medieval street pattern survives well and is reflected in street names

5.8 Area 3b: Ackworth, Thorpe Audlin, Wentbridge, Badsworth, East Hardwick and Nostell (Went River Basin)

Area description

This largely arable landscape is dotted with small agricultural settlements and farmsteads. Villages include historic farmsteads, many of which have been converted to residential use. There are also elements of historic parkland associated with large houses, most notably at Nostell Priory. Historically development is located along main roads that run through the area.

A two-storey historic building of red brick with four windows to ground and first floors. To the right is a single-storey stone section, with one window. Directly in front of the house is a narrow pavement and then the road.

Figure 281: Shows a dwelling of historic handmade brick, Wragby

A group of modern stone buildings around a courtyard. The buildings are of a traditional style, and various heights, including a double garage. Two of the buildings have grey tiled roofs and the other buildings have clay pantiles.

Figure 282: Shows a contextual modern development in a historically agricultural village, Badsworth

Materials

  • red and brown handmade brick with stone dressings in pre-mid 19th century buildings

  • sandstone, including ‘Ackworth Rock’ (medium-brown fine-grained sandstone)

  • roofs of stone slate, Welsh or Westmorland slate, and red pantiles

  • late 19th century red brick, especially in former mining areas

  • render in white, off-white, and neutral colours

Form and architectural detailing

  • brick corbelling

  • brick chimneystacks, including on stone buildings

  • low-medium boundary walls with flat and half-round copings

  • stone dressings, including pre-industrial window/door surrounds

  • mature hedging and trees in more rural locations

  • surviving agricultural buildings in villages centres, characterised by limited/small/random openings and differing heights/forms

5.9 Area 3c: Hemsworth, South Hiendley, South Elmsall, South Kirkby, Kinsley, and Havercroft (Southeast Coalfield)

Area description

The majority of settlements in this area are small towns and villages that remained as farming settlements until the Industrial Revolution. Much of the housing was built for the mining workforce using a mixture of stone and brick. Many old buildings associated with old industry and agriculture still exist as a reminder of the area’s history.

A large, decorative building with an arched central section. The building is mainly of red brick with high-quality stone detailing. A sign on the arched section says "Billiard Hall".

Figure 283: Demonstrates a smooth (factory-made) red-brick public building with stone dressings, South Elmsall

In the foreground is an historic stone wall constructed of large stone blocks. Behind the wall is a modern red brick building with large floor to ceiling windows.

Figure 284: Shows a historic stone boundary wall retained amongst 20th century red-brick development, Hemsworth

An oblique view of an historic bank building showing the side elevation of red brick and front elevation of high-quality ashlar stone.

Figure 285: An ashlar fronted red-brick former bank building, Hemsworth

Materials

  • factory-made smooth red brick on majority of dwellings and public buildings, reflecting mining heritage in area

  • sandstone for pre-19th century dwellings

  • ashlar sandstone for public buildings

  • some use of render, typically on Victorian or later buildings. Often hard, textured modern render

  • roofs are predominantly slates, with some use of red clay pantiles and stone slates

Form and architectural details

  • window arches

  • corbelling and detailing

  • houses tend to typically have small front gardens or front directly onto the street

  • low-medium boundary walls with flat and half-round copings

  • survival of historic boundary walls around newer buildings

5.10 Area 4: Knottingley, Darrington, and North Elmsall (Limestone Ridge)

Area description

The easternmost part of Wakefield district sits on the southern magnesian limestone ridge. This has influenced the distinctive building style of creamy-yellow limestone with clay pantile roofs. Much of the area consists of rural villages and hamlets interspersed with farmsteads. In the north, Knottingley has a historic core of limestone buildings and boundary walls, centred on St Botolph’s church. This has expanded as a result of later industrial development, resulting in a more mixed palette of materials and building styles.

A two-storey, historic building built of limestone with a gable on to the front elevation. The building has one window at ground floor and one at first floor. To the right is a single-storey building of the same stone with a clay pantile roof. In front of the buildings is a sweeping country lane.

Figure 286: Shows a limestone cottage with clay pantile roof, North Elmsall

Materials

  • magnesian limestone, clay pantile roofs

  • magnesian limestone outer walls with irregular brick quoin and window surround details

  • limestone in ashlar blocks for higher status properties, random coursing for more humble buildings

Form and architectural details

  • earlier buildings gable-end on to the road

  • magnesian limestone boundary walls are an important characteristic

Back to top