Littleton House and boundary walls to east and north-east

Summary

House of late-C18 date, extended in the C19; and boundary walls to the E and NE.

Reasons for Designation

Littleton House and its front (E) and NE boundary walls are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as a well-preserved and a good example of a late-C18 house with a balanced, classically-styled façade and a good proportion of historic features;
* Design: the house displays considerable care in its massing and proportions, as well as good-quality craftsmanship using local materials;
* Group value: the boundary walls to the E and NE form a good ensemble with the house.

History

Littleton House is situated in the hamlet of Littleton on the W side of the former turnpike road between Street and Somerton which was turnpiked in 1753. The Victoria County History of Somerset (see Sources) records that the estate had been acquired by the Pickfords by 1766, possibly bought from James, Baron Waldegrave. The current house dates from the late C18 and appears to have replaced an earlier L-shaped building which is depicted on the 1842 Tithe Map. By 1870 Littleton House was owned by Francis Blair. It was put up for sale in 1877, at which time it was described as having two kitchens, a coach house, stables and walled kitchen gardens. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1887 depicts several buildings to the rear (W) of the house which are described on plans submitted to the local planning authority in c1986 as a farm worker’s dwelling and barns. They have been substantially remodelled and converted to dwellings, known as Gladstone House and Westville respectively.

Details

House of late C18 date, extended in the C19; and boundary walls to the E and NE.

MATERIALS: the house is constructed of coursed, cut and squared blue Lias under slate-covered roofs with stepped, coped gables and stone stacks to the gable ends.

PLAN: it has a principal three-bay range of two stories with an attic and a small cellar, with lower-height ranges to the N and S and a late-C20/early-C21 rear conservatory.

EXTERIOR: the front (E) elevation is a symmetrical composition. The central entrance has an ashlar Doric portico with columns, pilasters and a flat entablature, and a raised and fielded panel door with a rectangular fanlight over. Both sides of the entrance is a timber sash window of nine panes, and to the first floor are a further three, six-paned sashes. Set back to the right is a lower, single-storey (first floor inserted) range that has a hipped roof and a tall round-arched sash window to its W elevation. Extending N from the NW corner of this range is another single-storey range, and its N gable end contains a doorway with wooden, stable-type door and a late-C20 timber window. To the left of the principal range, and also set back, is an attached range with a one window to the W elevation.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: to the front (E) and NE of Littleton House are boundary walls of blue Lias stone rubble with cappings of dressed stone. They have been altered slightly at their NE ends to provide an inturned entranceway to the house.

The former agricultural buildings to the SW and W of Littleton House, now Gladstone House and Westville, have been much altered and wholly remodelled. The NW, SW and rear boundary walls have been substantially rebuilt or are modern structures and are not of special interest.

Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that Gladstone House, Westville, the modern detached garages at Littleton House and at Westville, and the boundary walls to the NW, SW and rear of Littleton House and the inturned entrance walls at the NE corner are not of special architectural or historic interest.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

262873

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
Compton Dundon, A History of the County of Somerset, Volume 8, Glastonbury and Street, 2006, pp103-120, accessed 14 Decmber 2016 from http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol9/pp103-120

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