Gloucester House

Details

22/0/10156 RICHMOND HILL
23-JAN-03 54
Gloucester House

II

House. Built c1845-50 in Italianate style. Stock brick in Flemish bond with tuck pointing and stone dressings to front elevation, hipped slate roof and end brick chimneystacks. Three storeys attics and basement: three windows.
EXTERIOR: Front elevation has tall parapet, the centre ramped up with three stone panelled piers and two similar piers at the end with pyramidal caps. There is an elaborate dentilled eaves cornice and vermiculated quoins. The basement is rusticated. The second floor has three cambered 9-pane sashes in moulded architraves with stops and keystones with female mask to keystone of central window. The central first floor window has a pedimented surround with brackets and 12-pane sashes. The end windows have curved pediments with wreaths and brackets and tripartite windows without glazing bars. The ground floor has end curved bays with dentil cornice, tripartite windows with marginal glazing and flowerguards with grooved stone base on brackets and fine quality ironwork. Central Tuscan porch with frieze of wreaths, partly fluted and partly plain columns, ornamental cast iron balustrading between the columns and double door behind, the top panels glazed with patterned ironwork. There is a flight of steps flanked by urns. The basement has curved bays with sash windows with glazing bars. The rear elevation is plainer with original sash windows throughout, mainly 16-pane sashes, but taller 15-pane sash to the staircase and round-headed window below. The ground floor has a glass and trelliswork verandah which incorporates original cast iron balustrading, wooden end panels and multi-coloured tiled floor. Behind are French windows with marginal glazing. The steps are flanked by stone balustrading with urns. The side elevations only have openings to the basement level and there is a tooled stone half-winder staircase to the right hand side with plain cast iron balusters.
INTERIOR: Good quality staircase with mahogany handrail and elaborate cast iron balusters and cornice with ovolo-moulding, paterae and brackets. The ground floor has six-panelled doors throughout. Former Sitting Room to front right side has moulded cornice with acanthus motif, deep skirting board and an original curved recess. The former Morning Room behind has a wooden fireplace with swags and paterae and ovolo-moulded cornice. The former Dining Room to the rear left has an alcove, probably to contain a sideboard, pilasters and an elaborate cornice. A narrow service door leads to an intact dumb waiter in the corridor outside. The basement is very complete with tooled stone staircase with cast iron railings, original flagstone floor, wine cellar with tooled stone shelves, a larder and still room, one with slate shelves, the other with one slate and the remainder wooden shelves, three rooms with built-in dressers and front right room probably housekeeper's room with wooden fireplace and built-in cupboards and drawers probably for linen storage. Servants bells were in storage at time of inspection. Original panelling and marginally glazed door to mezzanine level toilet. The first floor retains original joinery including four-panelled doors and window shutters and four marble fireplaces with elaborate cast iron firegrates, one with paterae and pilasters, another with plain pilasters, the front rooms having cornices with anthemions and paterae. The second floor has two marble fireplaces and one wooden fireplace and two original built-in cupboards. A narrow winder staircase leads to a boxroom.
HISTORY: Gloucester House was built, it is thought between 1845 and 1850, on land formerly belonging to Ellerker House, 52 Richmond Hill, now known as the Vicarage School. On an adjoining parcel of land from the same estate a pair of semi-detached houses called Gloucester Villas were erected to the south side of Gloucester House, but these were demolished in the late 1960s. Gloucester House is shown on the O S map of 1862.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

489939

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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