The fine setting of Earlsdale, in the lee of Pontesford Hill looks to be essentially that of an early nineteenth-century villa, built to take advantage of the views from its elevated site. The house is, in fact, older than its façades might suggest. The Heighway family, who were responsible for its gothic fenestration, may have adapted the house as their seat on account of its lack of susceptibility to floods after their former house at Pontesford (now represented in part by the half-timbered Bridge Cottages) was damaged when the Pontesford brook burst its banks in 1810. Such was the extent of this sudden flood, which caused the Heighway house’s walls to give way, that William Heighway’s 83-year-old grandmother and two female servants were swept away and a total of nine lives were lost at Pontesford.

The Heighways had established themselves as tanners at Pontesford in 1710, when William Heighway took a lease of the tan house there. His successor, Samuel Heighway purchased the premises and other property in 1772 and, in 1784, the family had begun to involve themselves in the mining and lead smelting businesses of the area. Earlsdale, which was then known as Pool Place, and was basically an L-plan farmhouse of stone, had been bought by Samuel Heighway in 1777 and was tenanted until 1810. It was probably after the floods of 1811 that the two-storeyed house was gothicised for William Heighway, its northern entrance front given a castellated parapet, drip-stone headed, two-light pointed headed windows and a stout embattled lower porch, of two storeys with an oriel window. This is flanked by one storey canted bay windows, whilst the west end’s full height bay is also canted. The architect of these alterations does not appear to be recorded, but in the detailing there are similarities with J.H. Haycock’s alterations and Headmaster’s House at old Shrewsbury School (now Shrewsbury Library), whilst the Carlines – who played a part in surveying the parish church of St George at Pontesbury in 1811 – are other possible candidates.

The Heighway occupation of the house was initially short-lived since, in 1833, the place was let and William Heighway’s sisters and heirs, Elizabeth and Mary Heighway, were living at Pontesford House, a stone gothic-style villa with a cottage orné lodge dating from before 1837.