Details
KEMBLE EWEN
SU 09 NW
8/57
27-FEB-1986 The Brook House
II
A detached house dating from the early C19, with C20 extensions and alterations. It is double-pile, with two storeys to the main elevation and two storeys and attic to the rear, and a single-storey range to the west.
MATERIALS: The house is constructed from limestone ashlar to the main elevation and stacks, and coursed limestone rubble with dressed limestone quoins to the returns and the rear, set under Cotswold stone slate roofs.
PLAN: The buildings are oriented roughly east-west on plan, with three bays at the centre, the central entrance and stair bay projecting to the south, with the principal rooms to either side; the house has been extended to provide additional rooms at either end of this block. To the rear are the former service rooms and carriage bay. A linear outbuilding runs from the rear of the house towards the west, now converted into part of the accommodation.
EXTERIOR: There are three storeys to the rear range, and two to the front range. The main front, to the south, is of five bays, the westernmost set slightly back and below the level of the remainder. The building has a cornice and blocking course, and a plat band between the ground and first floors. There are pairs of six-over-six pane sashes in shallow reveals on each floor, flanking a central, projecting square bay, which has a Venetian window to the first floor, with heavy moulded cornices to its sidelights. The entrance below has a chamfered, stone Tudor archway and a six-panel outer door with fielded panels. The north (rear) elevation is a four-window range, with paired eight-pane casements to the first and second floors, widely set under large flush stone lintels and with projecting stone cills. The ground floor has three similar windows and two depressed elliptical stone archways, each with a keystone; the archways are fully glazed with C20 frosted glass. To the west, a single-storey range with one similar window to the main range, and two single fixed lights, and a timber plank double doors at the western end.
INTERIOR: To the interior, the core of the building, dating from the early C19, retains its original layout, with a central entrance hall flanked by the principal rooms, each with its original windows and shutters. The hall has an inner doorway with fanlight over, and an open-string dogleg stair with double-ramped handrail. To the rear are former service rooms and carriage bay. The first floor follows the same pattern, and also retains its windows and shutters, and C19 doors remain throughout. Both ranges have exposed roof timbers of the early C19. The roof of the south range is constructed from heavy-section A-frame trusses, consisting of lapped principal rafters, tie beams and collars with twin trenched purlins. The roof structure to the rear range is of lighter timbers but the same basic structure, with some later cambered collars fixed with iron bolts.
HISTORY: The building appears to have originated in the early C19, certainly before circa 1840, as a three-bay, two-storey house with a projecting central bay, and a range of single-storey outbuildings running to the west. The house is double-pile, with the rear range, of two storeys and attic, housing bedrooms and service rooms. It was extended by a bay to the east during the mid-C20, with a further extension added to the west in the later C20, creating a symmetrical façade to the main front. Soon after, the outbuildings were converted to a kitchen range. The entrance walls and gateway were altered in the early C21, to the rear of the house, and the principal approach is now from the rear. A detached coach house was erected at the same period, to the north-east of the main house.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
The Brook House is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* The house originated in the early C19, and has clear architectural pretension in its classically-inspired façade and detailing
* It demonstrates good quality in architectural style, as well as in its craftsmanship and finishing
* The plan form and fabric of the early-C19 house remain intact, with some good interior joinery, original stair and doors, and its original roof structure
* The extensions dating from the C20, though sympathetic, are of lesser interest than the core of the house, which retains its early-C19 character and fabric
Listing NGR: SU0046997371
