12-14, WRAY COMMON ROAD

Details

902/0/10017 WRAY COMMON ROAD 27-JAN-06 Reigate 12-14

II Originally one house, later subdivided. Built in 1881 for Edgar Paine in an Old English style with Queen Anne influences. On stylistic grounds the house is thought to have been built by local architects Holford, Clayton and Black. An asymmetrical building of two storeys and attics, mainly of flemish bond brickwork to the ground floor, fishscale tile-hanging to the first floor and with eclectically timberframed attic gables with decorative pargetting. The roof is tiled with brick chimneystacks. PLAN: Roughly square with projecting gables with bay windows to the principal rooms on three sides and a projecting former domestic services wing to the rear forming an L-wing. EXTERIOR: The entrance front facing west has a central projecting gable supported on four carved brackets with a decorative metal finial and eclectic timberframing with incised pargetting depicting cranes and sunflowers. There is a first floor bay window and the ground floor has a cambered doorcase with fanlight and double doors. There is a plain wooden porch supported on columns which originally had a first floor wooden balcony, shown in a photograph of 1908. To the right is a smaller projecting gable with cambered sash to the ground floor and to the left a cambered sash window to the ground floor. The south elevation, which originally faced the extensive grounds, is symmetrical with two projecting timberframed gables crowned with terracotta floral finials. Behind were the drawing room and perhaps the morning room. The east elevation has a large tile-hung gable with two attic windows and below a large staircase window, its form based on a Venetian windows but with a sloping cill. A cloakroom window below has a 12-pane sash window wih floral pargetting decoration above and coloured bottle glass. The gabled former domestic offices is joined on to this side and has a canted bay at first floor level with pargetting with crane decoration. It has three windows at first floor facing east and later double doors and conservatories to the ground floor. The north elevation has a projecting full height canted bay with projecting gable. The attic storey is timberframed with pargetting with floral motifs and crane decoration with bay windows below with glazing bars to the upper parts only. To the left is an external chimneystack with brick ribs, two small sash windows with glazing bars to the upper part only and a cambered doorcase. The first floor of the former domestic offices facing west has two windows, one set in a gable, both replaced in uPVC. The ground floor has a cambered eight-pane window and a cambered four-panelled door. INTERIOR: No 12 has a dado-tiled vestibule with tessellated floor. The large square hall has a wooden fireplace, a series of five panelled doors and a door with bottleglass. The former study at the front of the house has a fireplace with eared architrave and blue tiling and a built-in china cupboard. The drawing room to the south has a panelled ribbed ceiling and wooden fireplace with eared architraves and marble and tiled interior. The well staircase retains its original handrail and newelposts but all the balusters and finials were replaced and the stained glass staircase window no longer remains. The first floor retains wooden fireplaces with floral tiled surrounds and iron firegrates and built-in cupboards. The attic retains two simpler cast iron firegrates. No 14 has a front room (probably originally the dining room), with a plumed cornice, dado panelling and a five-panelled door. A room to the rear of the building retains a wooden fireplace with a panel of cupids, two battered pilasters and ovolo-moulding. The bedrooms have coved cornices. HISTORY: The house was originally called Mill Lawn and is shown as such on the 1904 Ordnance Survey map. Auction particulars of 1908, following the death of the original owner, showed it had extensive grounds of about three and a half acres with kitchen garden to the north, croquet or tennis lawn to the south east, orchard further south east and lodge and stables to the south west. The house had ten bed and dressing rooms, bathroom and four reception rooms together with domestic offices. According to the Sales Particulars of 1908 this included a square hall with fireplace, study with painted wooden chimneypiece and small cabinet with glass door, dining room with oak fireplace and "Bay extra", drawing room with walnut chimneypiece and morning room with wooden chimneypiece and a principal oak staircase "lighted by a fine window with stained glass panels representing Music and Painting". Of the seven first floor bedrooms all had fireplaces and five had cupboards. One communicated with a dressing room and one with a bathroom. Later the property was subdivided into two houses, No 12 to the south and No 14 to the north and the former lodge and stables were sold into separate ownership. STATEMENT OF IMPORTANCE: A substantially intact house of 1881 in Old English style with Queen Anne influences, built of good quality materials with detailing of high quality and innovative for its period, influenced by R Norman Shaw. The exterior form was dictated by the interior planning with quirky details and the decorative incised pargetting to the gables is rare and the carved brick details fine. The interior features are mainly intact and the original plan was little altered by the later subdivison. SOURCES: 1908 Auction Particulars.

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