History on your doorstep

In 1646 Langdale Sunderland was fined £878 for his part in the Royalist cause. He petitioned Parliament, saying that he had been “unhappily persuaded to take upon him the command of Captain of a troop of horse” and that he was “heartily sorrowful for his error”. How sincere Langdale was in his contrition is uncertain. He had contributed £1,500 a year to the Royalist cause and it was perhaps convenient for his petition that his active participation in the war had been curtailed by the wounds he received at Marston Moor.
In 1647 the frontage of the hall had been seriously damaged during an attack by Commonwealth forces. Two years later Langdale repaired the damage and built the present gateway. Carved on the gate are the date, 1649, a horse and hound, and the double cross of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem