Ionic order cap is usually enriched with egg-and-dart. Since Vitruvius, a female character has been ascribed to the Ionic (in contrast to the masculine Doric). The major features of the Ionic order are the volutes of its capital, which have been the subject of much theoretical and practical discourse, based on a brief and obscure passage in Vitruvius. The only tools required to design these features were a straight-edge, a right angle, string (to establish half-lengths) and a compass. Below the volutes, the Ionic column may have a wide collar or banding separating the capital from the fluted shaft (as in, for
Lostock Hall Gatehouse demolished in 1824. The gatehouse, a Grade II* listed building, is all that now remains of the hall. The main front is of ashlar and the other three sides are covered with thin coursed rubble. The central arch was originally open, which a man could ride through, is now built up with a doorway. Originally there were no windows on the ground floor, but two sash windows have been introduced between the Tuscan columns, one on each side of the door. The upper floor windows are flanked by pairs of widely spaced Ionic and Corinthian columns. Above the first-floor window