Institute of St Marcellina

Details

CAMDEN

TQ2685NW ELLERDALE ROAD
798-1/26/367 (North side)
11/08/50 No.6
Institute of St Marcellina
(Formerly Listed as:
ELLERDALE ROAD
No.6
Hampstead Towers Hotel)

GV I

Detached house, now in use as a convent. 1874-76 by R Norman
Shaw for himself; northward extension at rear added 1885-86 by
Shaw; minor additions 1892-93; later alterations. Red bricks
(narrow bricks for main fronts, normal bricks at back) with
rubbed brick hoods and aprons and enriched brick chimneys;
some tile-hanging, wooden bargeboards, plaster ornament and
render. Tiled roofs. White-painted timber windows of various
types, most with leaded lights.
STYLE: free Queen-Anne style.
EXTERIOR: irregular south-facing front of three and four
storeys. Left-hand portion has boldly canted bay window rising
through three storeys and crowned by a Chinese-style balcony
(formerly timber, now iron) under a small dormer gable with
tile-hanging and bargeboards. Right-hand portion has tiers of
three 'Ipswich oriels' with plaster ornament between under a
similar dormer gable. Tall, narrow windows in centre of
various types, irregularly set. On the extreme right,
single-storey entrance porch with rubbed brick surround to
front (position of original entrance) and overhanging carved
timber hood in style of Wren to return (current position of
entrance). Tall, square stack right of centre on roof, with
brick carving. Western and northern elevations to original
house irregular, with massive projecting chimneybreast on west
end rising to tall stack, the brickwork much repaired. Western
elevation to garden of 1885-6 extension of three storeys, with
broad flat-topped, polygonal canted bay rising through upper
storeys, rendered between floors. Northern end elevation of
extension with further tall chimneybreast. Various later
additions on east side.
INTERIOR retains original panelled entrance hall and main
staircase, and parts of reception rooms on first floor. Dining
room survives well, with softwood panelling (formerly painted,
now stained and varnished) to height of frieze, exposed timber
beams in ceiling,and deep inglenook with applied timber and
leather decoration on front, Hispano-Moresque tiles flanking


fireplace and 'den' reached by private stair over inglenook.
Drawing room suite now divided, but form of back drawing room
with portions of fine screen and deep bay window survives
(chimney-piece altered, frieze destroyed); fireplace and part
of screen in front drawing room also survives.
HISTORICAL NOTE: this was Norman Shaw's house from 1876 to
1912, and in the 'den' above the inglenook he designed many of
his buildings, especially after 1896. The informal design of
the house was revolutionary in the development of the Queen
Anne style.
(Saint A: Richard Norman Shaw: London and New Haven: -1976:
176-184).

Listing NGR: TQ2632785528

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

477167

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Saint, A, Richard Norman Shaw, (1976), 176-184

End of official list entry

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