Warcop House and Brookfield House

Summary

A detached house, of the early-19th century, incorporating an earlier cottage as a rear range with a mid-later 19th century addition built in a neoclassical style.

Reasons for Designation

Warcop House and Brookfield House are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a high-status 1830s villa of good compositional quality and detailing, extended in the mid-later C19 in similar style to create a large Victorian dwelling with a U-shaped symmetrical plan;
 * the early-C19 interior plan form (Warcop House) is remarkably complete and highly legible, and is complemented by a contemporary decorative scheme of ornate and richly expressed plasterwork and joinery, and a suite of quality chimneypieces;
* the west wing (Brookfield House) retains a largely intact plan-form and a number of original fixtures and fittings, including a good staircase, four-panel doors with architraves, and framed splayed window openings.

History

Warcop House was constructed in the 1830s to the designs of local architect William Close of Kirkby Stephen. It was built by the parents of Agnes Chamley, for their daughter and her husband Matthew Chamley. There were earlier buildings on the site, including a 'cottage' that was retained as a rear service range to the new dwelling. The first edition 1:10,560 Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1859 depicts Warcop House and its rear service range, associated with several other small buildings on the site.

Between 1859 and 1889, when the second edition OS map was published, Warcop House was extended by the addition of a large wing (now known as Brookfield House) to the west end of the earlier 'cottage', thus creating an overall U-shaped plan. A conservatory fronting the rear service range (now removed) had already been added by this time.

Warcop House was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence at the start of the Second World War as officer accommodation, and was derequisitioned in 1948.

Between 1950 and 1951 the then owner of Warcop House reported that the west end of the house was divided into two flats. The building subsequently became divided into two separate houses: Warcop House and Brookfield House.

Details

Detached house, early-C19, incorporating an earlier cottage, and a mid-late C19 west wing. Neoclassical style.

MATERIALS: rendered rubble with ashlar dressings, and graduated Welsh slate roofs with corniced stone chimneys.

PLAN: 'U'-shaped plan with the early-C19 dwelling at the front (east end), mid-late C19 dwelling at the west end, and earlier building to the centre.

EXTERIOR: the original dwelling is symmetrical with two storeys and five bays beneath a hipped roof of graduated slate. It has rusticated quoins, a first-floor sill band, a plinth and a moulded eaves cornice and blocking course. All windows have unhorned sliding sash frames, and slightly projecting stone surrounds. The central main (eastern) entrance has a six-panel door with fanlight over, and a four column Ionic porch, flanked to each side by a margin light. To either side is a pair of tall six-over-nine sashes in moulded architraves, with consoles carrying a cornice. There are five six-over-six first floor windows in plain stone surrounds. The left and right returns are similarly detailed with a plinth, sill band and eaves cornice, and two windows to each floor, also in plain stone surrounds. The rear (west) elevation has a central entrance with a six-panel door and geometric fanlight within a stone, corniced surround. There are windows to either side and to the first floor there is a tall round-headed stair window. Attached to the southern end of this elevation is a narrow two-storey two-bay range (an earlier cottage) beneath a graduated pitched roof, with a ridge chimney stack. Two regular windows to each floor are six-over-six pane sashes in stone surrounds of grey and red sandstone.

Attached to the west end of the narrow, two-storey range, is the mid-late C19 west wing (Brookfield House), which attempts to mirror the original dwelling in scale, detail, and materials. It has two or two and a half storeys and three bays beneath a hipped roof of slate with overhanging, bracketed eaves, and a pair of tall chimney stacks. All windows have unhorned sliding sash frames in plain stone surrounds. The west elevation has three bays, with the central entrance bay projecting and prominently quoined. It has a pair of stone-mullioned windows with four-over-four sashes to ground and first floor and a semi-basement window. The entrance is in the left return of the projecting bay reached by a set of stone steps with stone balustrade, coping and pyramidal caps. It has a four-panel door with a blind semi-circular head and painted-on tracery. The bay to the left has a single, narrow first floor window and a pair of six-over-six ground floor windows, and the bay to the right has a single ground floor window. The left return has a pair of regularly-spaced first floor windows, with three windows to the ground floor. The right return has a pair of two-light stone-mullioned windows to each floor, except for the ground floor right, which has three lights. The rear elevation has similar windows either side of the linking range.

INTERIOR: the 1830s house is characterised by a complete interior decorative scheme of ornate and high-quality plasterwork and joinery. It also has six-panel doors throughout both floors, some with original door furniture. The main entrance enters into a spacious entrance hall with a complex, ornate modillioned cornice, and a stone floor, set within which is a large metal basement ventilation grille. Openings either side of the entrance hall have moulded architraves, deep, panelled reveals and soffits, and ornate corniced heads, and are identically detailed to the inside. They open into lofty dining and drawing rooms, both adorned with rich foliate, fruit and floriate plasterwork including cornices and ceiling roses. Joinery includes panelled window reveals, soffits, and shutters. Both rooms have original early-C19 Georgian marble chimney pieces, and the drawing room retains an historic converted gas chandelier.

An ornate rear stair hall is entered through a moulded stair arch with panelled soffits and reveals incorporating leaf ornamentation. This hall has quality plasterwork and joinery including a similar modillioned cornice to that of the entrance hall. Either side of the stair hall, moulded round-arched openings lead to narrow passages, with entrances to two further reception rooms. The present kitchen, thought to be an original smoking room, has a moulded cornice, shutters, and panelled window sofit, and the original door has metal circular vents. The present snug has similar plasterwork and joinery and an early-C19 chimneypiece. On the right side, the passage terminates at a rear external door. On the left side the passage continues into part of the earlier rear range comprising a service room containing a C19 chimney piece. Stone steps lead down to a basement with a stone slab floor and fitted with stone supports and shelves.

The decorative open-string, dog-leg staircase has a ramped and wreathed mahogany handrail rail and turned balusters; the soffit has plasterwork detail matching that of the ceiling. The first-floor plan mirrors that of the ground floor. An upper stair hall richly decorated with fine plaster and joinery, including a wide stair arch; this is lit by a round-headed stair window with panelled soffit and reveals. A pair of ornate round-headed entrances lead via short passages to two principal bedrooms that retain picture rails, plain friezes, C19 chimney pieces with decorative Victorian hob grates. One room has panelled reveals and soffits to the windows and the second has a moulded cornice. A short passage off the landing leads to two further bedrooms with attached dressing rooms. These inter-linked rooms are similarly detailed to the principal bedrooms in terms of plaster and joinery work. One has a C19 marble fireplace and the other has a timber fireplace, both with hob grates.

The west wing (Brookfield House) is understood to have undergone some C21 internal modification and that some fixtures and fittings such as cornices, panelling, and shutters, while all of a piece, are replacements. The staircase, four-panel doors and architraves are original features, and the original plan form is largely retained. The entrance opens into a stair hall that runs the full width of the interior. It has half-panelled walls and a moulded plaster cornice. All rooms are entered through four-panelled doors set within moulded architraves, with deep plain reveals. They mostly have moulded cornices and skirtings, and splayed window openings are defined by thin engaged columns and have plain replacement shutters. Chimneypieces are replacement C19 styles. The dog-leg staircase has panelled sides, drops, an ornate newel post and handrail. The first-floor landing is similarly detailed to the ground floor, and bedrooms have similar cornices and window treatments, or are otherwise plain.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 23 June 2025 to amend details in the description

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

73397

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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