Summary
Block of almshouses built in 1837, in an open garden, extended in the late C19, early and mid C20 and rebuilt at the rear, with internal remodelling to form flats, in the 1980s.
Reasons for Designation
Papillon House is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the elegant, classically-proportioned façade of Papillon House has design merit attested by features such as the rendered pediments, contrasting rhythmically arranged window frames and good quality brickwork;
* Group value: Papillon House has group value with a number of listed buildings including the Hole in the Wall Public House (Grade II) and Roman Balkerne Gate (Grade I) to the west, the municipal water tower (Grade II*) to the south and Tudor Cottage (Grade II) to the east;
* Alteration: although the roof structure and some of the chimney stacks survive, the north elevation and interior have been extensively altered and no longer possess special architectural interest.
History
Papillon House, formerly known as Provident Place, was built as almshouses in 1837 on a vacant site close to the extant west wall of the former Roman Colonia. The earliest building comprised a symmetrical block of dwellings facing south, evident on the 1848 Tithe Map with arranged gardens to the south. Between 1848 and the publication of the first edition Ordnance Survey (O.S) map of 1876, a small rear extension had been added to the west end block and individual walled yards for the six dwellings erected to the north, each with an outbuilding attached to the rear wall. By 1897, an additional terrace of four dwellings with rear wings had been added to the west end of the 1837 range. A building application of 1905 was submitted by C.E. Bland Esq. on behalf of the Committee of the Colchester Provident Asylum to add sculleries to the rear of the 1837 structure. The plan accompanying the application shows that the ground floor interior plan-form of the dwellings comprised an entrance hall, with the stairs at the rear, and one room on both sides of the principal east-west structural wall, each with a central fireplace. This scheme was implemented. In the late 1940s, the terrace was extended to the east with the addition of two more dwellings, creating a terrace of twelve when the building was listed at Grade II in 1968. It is likely that the 1837 block had a hipped roof originally, but the hips were replaced with gable ends in the C20.
In approximately 1947, some of the first floor windows were blind and were opened up subsequently. In 1981, listed building consent was granted for extensive remodelling to the terrace. The rear wings and north half of the building were demolished and replaced with new build accommodating shared hallways and stairs providing access to a number of flats formed by the horizontal and vertical division of the twelve terraced dwellings, and kitchen and bathroom facilities. Selected chimney stacks were removed and the front doors and some windows were replaced at the facade. However, a detailed joinery survey of 2012 undertaken to inform a listed building consent application for the replacement of all of the windows at the facade indicated that approximately 50% of the historic fabric within the openings remained. Internally, the remodelling resulted in the removal of all historic fixtures and fittings, but it appears that the principal, internal east-west structural wall to the terrace and some of the cross walls were retained. Much of the C19 roof structure appears to survive, but the rear (north) pitch was strengthened and reconfigured to accommodate the new build.
Details
MATERIALS: the facade is constructed with grey gault brick with stucco rendering to the cornice and two door surrounds, and slate covering to the roofs. The rear elevation is of late-C20 brick, partially rendered.
PLAN: a terrace of twelve dwellings; the earliest range at the centre was symmetrically arranged, comprising six units each with a two room plan and an entrance hall.
EXTERIOR: Papillon House has two-storeys and shallow hipped roofs to the east and west surmounted by some brick ridge stacks The facade faces south and has a moulded, stucco-rendered cornice; the 5th and 6th bay, and 10th and 11th bay, project forward slightly under a stucco-rendered pediment atop pairs of plain, brick pilasters. The ground floor windows and door openings are arched with segmented brick heads. The window openings are recessed except in the pedimented bays; here the door openings are straight-headed with a stucco render surround comprising pilasters with moulded capitals beneath a slightly projecting flat hood. The first floor window openings have straight, segmented brick heads; the sash windows have three-over-six lights. All of the entrance doors and approximately half of the windows are C20 replacements.
The late-C20 rear elevation has full-height, staggered projecting bays and pent-roofed storage facilities; shared entrances are accessed by ramps with handrails. The rear elevation has no architectural interest.
INTERIOR: the interiors of three flats were inspected. The earliest plan-form of the dwellings has been removed by late-C20 remodelling which included the insertion of shared lobbies and stairways and the creation of one-bedroom apartments. The room divisions of the flats are generally late-C20 inserted partitions and there are no C19 fixtures and fittings remaining, including fireplaces and joinery. Fragmentary elements of the historic structure remain, including the principal east-west wall, some cross-walls and, on the first floor, some chimney stacks, but the interior is extensively altered and does not possess special interest.
