Summary
Large mid-C19 villa extensively rebuilt in 1861, possibly by Edward Boardman, extended in 1895, and adjoining garden features created in 1908.
Reasons for Designation
Carrow House, a mid-C19 villa extensively rebuilt in 1861, possibly by Edward Boardman, and extended in 1895, with adjoining garden features created in 1908, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it is a good example of a handsome Victorian villa in the Italianate style with a well-balanced composition and well-executed classical stone dressings;
* much of the work was carried out by James Minns and very probably by Edward Boardman, two Norwich-based artists whose designs and craftsmanship are notable for their high quality;
* the internal decorative scheme throughout the house is particularly significant for the intricate carving of the finely detailed Jacobean style joinery, including the staircase, panelling and elaborate chimneypieces;
* the built structures of the small formal garden have clear design quality and augment the house.
Historic interest:
* the interest of Carrow House is enhanced by the survival of the ground-floor business rooms which demonstrate the close association between the house and the family-run Carrow Works nearby.
Group value:
* it has strong group value with other designated assets on the site, particularly with the adjoining Grade II* listed conservatory, the Grade I listed Carrow Abbey, and the scheduled Carrow Priory which, along with the lodge, gardener’s cottage and former cart shed; the nearby sunken garden; and the pet cemetery, all of which are Grade II listed, contribute significantly to its architectural and historic context.
History
The historical development of the Carrow Works site in Norwich, until 2020 the former home of Colman’s, one of the world’s oldest condiment milling producers, dates back to 1146 when King Stephen granted land in Carhowe (Carrow) to the nuns of the Church of St Mary and St John for the founding of a Benedictine priory (scheduled and listed Grade I). After the Dissolution most of the priory fell into ruin with the exception of the prioress’s house which came to be known as Carrow Abbey. The priory estate passed through various hands, being acquired by Philip Martineau), an eminent Norwich surgeon, in 1811. In 1850, land immediately to the north of the Carrow Abbey estate was purchased by the successful mustard, flour and starch milling business of J and J Colman Ltd from the Norfolk Railway Company.
During the late C19 J and J Colman Ltd systematically acquired adjoining parcels of land on which to expand, including the purchase of the Carrow estate from the Martineau family in 1878. By 1926, the premises had expanded to cover some 50 acres and had a frontage of nearly a mile along the River Wensum. While mustard, flour, starch and laundry blue were still the main products produced at Carrow, Colman’s had started producing "Patent" barley, "Patent" groats and "Waverley" oats in 1925 following the acquisition of rival mustard maker and cereal producer Keen Robinson in 1903. In 1938 Colman’s merged with Reckitt and Sons Ltd, a firm producing household products such as polish and bleach, to form Reckitt and Colman Ltd. In 1995, the mustard and condiment side of Reckitt and Colman Ltd was sold to Unilever, while Robinson’s was acquired by Britvic. In 2017, Britvic announced it would close its Carrow Works factory in 2019, prompting Unilever to review its own future on the site, which led to a decision to cease production in 2020.
On the domestic side, along with developing the factory complex, Jeremiah James Colman has also extensively rebuilt a mid-C19 villa on the site between 1860 and 1861, turning it into the family home known as Carrow House. From the elevated site he could also oversee his expanding milling business to the north-east. Correspondence in the Unilever Archive dated 1861 suggests that the architect Edward Boardman and the local ironmonger Barnard, Bishop and Barnards were involved in the building works. Edward Boardman (1833-1910) founded the prominent Norwich-based architectural practice Edward Boardman and Sons; and his son, Edward Thomas Boardman (1861-1950) later joined the practice. Edward Boardman was a prolific architect, designing and restoring country houses, public buildings and churches in the area of Norwich, including the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (Grade II), the former Primitive Methodist Chapel and Sunday School in Queens Road (both Grade II), and converting Norwich Castle into a museum. His son was principally responsible for the buildings designed by the practice in the Edwardian period and he later became Lord Mayor of Norwich in 1905 and High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1933. Boardman and Sons have over thirty listed buildings to their name.
The internal wood carving carried out during this phase at Carrow House was done by the Norwich-born sculptor and carver James Minns (1828-1904). Amongst the works either securely or tentatively attributed to him are the terracotta coat of arms for the Boileau Fountain, Ipswich Road, Norwich (1870-6); the stone statues of St Peter and two angels at St Peter’s Church in Ketteringham; and the angels carved in wood for the interior of St Michael the Archangel, Booton and possibly the bronze statue of the saint above the porch door (around 1900).
In 1895 an extension and conservatory were added to the south end of the house. The conservatory was built by Boulton and Paul Ltd, a Norwich-based manufacturing company that had originated as an ironmonger's shop in 1797. During the C19 it became an iron-founders, a wire netting manufacturer, and also constructed prefabricated wooden buildings, notably producing the huts for Scott's Antarctic expedition. During the Second World War the firm was a major producer of prefabricated buildings, wire netting and wooden sub-assemblies of aircraft.
In 1908 the small walled garden with a fountain and seating area was laid out to the south-east of the house in front of the conservatory. In 1922 Carrow House was converted into offices for use by the Colman business. At some point after 1928 (the date of the 3rd edition Ordnance Survey map), two small single-storey extensions were built either side of the principal entrance on the west front. In 1959 a substantial five-storey office block, known as New Carrow House, was built to the north and connected to the house by a glazed link. This is excluded from the listing. The old and new parts of the building are both vacant (2021).
Details
Large mid-C19 villa extensively rebuilt in 1861, possibly by Edward Boardman, extended in 1895, and adjoining garden features created in 1908.
New Carrow House, the office block built to the north and connected to the house by a glazed link in 1959, is excluded from the listing.
MATERIALS: the house is constructed of gault brick laid in Flemish bond with stone dressings and has a roof covering of slate.
PLAN: Carrow House is situated on a sloping site which falls steeply to the north-east. It has a long, approximately rectangular plan in which the original villa is to the north and the 1895 range to the south, with additional C20 single-storey extensions on the west side.
EXTERIOR: the house is in an Italianate style. It has two storeys plus an attic and basement, and a shallow hipped roof with a low parapet and moulded stone cornice supported by stone brackets. Tall panelled chimney stacks with a dentilled oversailing cornice rise from the north gable end and the ridge of the south range. On the west front, the original villa to the left (north) has a symmetrical façade of four bays, the two central bays projecting forward under a pediment supported by stone brackets and pierced by an oculi. It is framed by paired pilasters which are echoed at the end bays. The hipped roof above this range has a flat top with decorative ironwork balustrading and two dormers with moulded wooden segmental pediments. The regular fenestration consists of two-over-two pane horned sash windows set within raised moulded stone surrounds. The basement area is behind a low stone wall which runs along the length of this part of the house. It was originally covered by a glazed roof but this has been replaced by plastic, although the ornate cast-iron brackets survive.
To the right is the slightly set back south extension, added in 1895 in exactly the same style. It has four bays with two segmental dormers and an off-centre double-leaf studded door set in a prominent Doric surround, flanked by pilasters. On each side are C20 single-storey additions in the same style, the bracketed cornice of the Doric surround carried across each cornice. The addition on the left is lit by a two-over-two pane sash window, and the larger projection on the right has a canted bay window lit on three sides by tall multi-pane sashes. The south gable end has a double-height canted bay window, framed by paired pilasters, with a stone band between each floor bearing the date stone 1895. The ground floor is lit by a multi-pane sash window, and the first floor by a six-light casement window.
Due to the steeply sloping ground, on the long rear east elevation the basement becomes the ground floor with two floors above. The 1895 range to the left (south) has five bays, divided by pilasters, and a balustraded walkway at first-floor level. The fenestration is mostly two-over-two pane sashes in stone surrounds, except for the ground floor which is lit by wide multi-pane sashes under gauged brick arches. The partly-glazed door in the central bay, which is recessed under the walkway, is set within an elaborate wooden doorcase with a canopy supported by foliate-carved brackets and a decorative carved frieze. This is flanked by canted bay windows, that on the right being double-height. The earlier 1860-61 range to the right has a symmetrical composition of three bays, the central one dominated by a full-height canted bay, each angle defined by a pilaster. The flanking bays are lit by similar fenestration to that already described, except most of the windows also have projecting moulded stone sills with a horizontal decorative iron bar, supported by stone consoles.
INTERIOR: this contains well-preserved joinery and woodcarving of a very high standard in both parts of the house, most notably in the large west room in the original north range and the three receptions rooms in the 1895 south range. The unpainted joinery is of a rich, warm hue and is in a C17 style incorporating the classical motifs and strapwork typical of the Jacobean period. Semicircular openings are given elaborate treatment with panelled soffits and jambs; as are the doorways, one of which has panelled jambs flanked by paired strapwork pilasters, a strapwork and linenfold frieze, and a dentilled cornice enriched with egg and dart.
The entrance on the west front of the south range leads into an entrance hall with the principal stair opposite, flanked by two receptions rooms on the right and one on the left. The handsome and substantial open well stair is supported by twisted columns with Ionic capitals. It has a closed string, turned balusters, panelled square newel posts with acorn finials, and a panelled dado.
The room to the south of the hall has linenfold panelling to dado height with a delicate frieze of scrolls interlaced with classical urns. The carved wooden fireplace has a scrolling foliate frieze and paired strapwork pilasters, and a bronze insert with a hood and studded roundels bearing the date 1903 and the owner’s initials. The elaborate plaster ceiling cornice is enriched with bead and reel, oakleaf and four-cornered flowers.
The room at the southernmost end has full-height C17 style panelling with short lower panels and tall upper panels. The scheme incorporates the doors, fluted pilasters in the canted bay window, and the fireplace. This has a stone bolection moulded surround and a wooden mantelshelf supported by scrolled brackets adorned with acanthus leaves. The room to the east of the hall has large square panelling to dado height, and its canted bay window is framed by a panelled opening with C18 style display cabinets. The detail in the joinery is picked out in marquetry forming a billet and strapwork design.
In the original part of the house, an elegant spiral staircase occupies the central bay at the front. Made of mahogany, it has a closed string, turned balusters and a scrolled handrail. The small room to the east contains a First World War memorial in the form of a large full-height panel with railings and a tripartite frame containing the names of those in the Colman company who fell in action. There is an additional plaque for those who fell in the Second World War.
The large room occupying the central bay on the west side of the house contains the elaborate carved woodwork by James Minns. It has full-height C17 style panelling and an ornate plasterwork ceiling in a geometric design, the wide ribs embellished with a guilloche pattern. The full-height timber fireplace has paired spiral columns and scroll consoles supporting the mantelshelf. The large central mirror above is flanked by paired pilasters with carved bird and branch motifs and central roundels with carved projecting heads. Ceramic shields are positioned above the capitals.
Some of the subsidiary rooms on the ground floor have been partitioned, as have parts of the first floor where fire doors have also been inserted, dating from the building’s use as offices. Generally, the internal decoration of the first floor is much less elaborate than the reception rooms, although many elements of interest remain, including panelled window shutters, classical style doorcases, and fireplaces in a variety of styles, some with grey marble surrounds and others with wooden carved neo-Jacobean detailing.
The basement appears to have been used for both services and business-related offices as some of the rooms are plain whilst others have elaborate fireplaces of neo-Jacobean character. Many of the rooms have built-in cupboards, and the former kitchen retains the wide wooden surround where the cooking range would have been.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: on the south-east corner of the house, stone balustraded steps lead up to the walkway across the rear elevation, surmounted by a highly ornate open work square iron pier with S-shaped scrolls. This retains the base of a lantern. The balustrade continues at right angles for c2m and joins up to the wall that surrounds the small formal garden which was laid out to the south of the house in 1908. The low brick wall is covered in rough cast render and has a flat stone coping. There are two sets of ornate iron gates at the north-east corner and the south end, flanked by square piers with concrete ball finials.
At the north-west corner, on the right of the steps leading up to the conservatory, is a wooden bench fitted into a curved section of the wall. The bench is supported by stone brackets and flanked by square piers with large ornate scrolled brackets. The seating area is paved in irregular stone and has a central carved timber post which formerly held up a parasol.
In the centre of the garden is a circular pond edged in stone in which flint is inlaid forming the date 1908.
