Oaklands House

Details

926/0/10022 MOULSHAM STREET 15-AUG-06 OAKLANDS HOUSE

II House, now a museum, 1865 by Charles Pertwee for Frederick Wells. Late C20 extension to south of no historic interest. Two storeys,gault brick laid in English bond,chamfered plinth.'L' shaped plan, main range at north-east, servants quarters in side wing. 3 slate-covered hipped roofs over main range, with central cupola.Parallel slate-covered gable roofs over side wing with clasped purlin roof and ridge piece. Seven ridge stacks with shaped brick caps. Overhanging eaves supported by wooden brackets and moulded stone end-consoles. Saw-tooth dentilled cornices. Projecting stone string course on all elevations. A four-storey campanile located at right-angle of the 'L'.

EXTERIOR. One-over-one vertical sliding sashes in the main range. Carved half-pilaster jambs with key motif and carved lintels with decorated heads on ground floor. North and east facades have projecting bays and full-height windows on ground . First floor windows have simpler, chamfered lintels and jambs. Side wing has six-over-six vertical sliding sashes, stone lintels with enlarged keystones and undecorated, stone jambs and sills.

West-facing facade; projecting main range and central porch supported by two pairs of stone Doric columns. Six- panelled front door,part-glazed and part-panelled, arched doorcase. Frieze with triglyph motifs and plain cornice above, supporting a stone balustrade. Projecting bay under gablet to left,tri-partite windows with dressed and carved stone arched heads, lintels and mullions. Campanile has two pairs of one-over-one vertical sliding sash windows at ground and first, moulded stone balustrade above ground floor windows, roundel with `FW' carved initials above first floor. Projecting dentilled cornice and string course, tri-partite openings, with carved stone mullions, moulded stone heads and sills on the fourth storey, where the bell (now removed) was housed. Weathervane on gablet. Servants wing at south end of facade has projecting end bay under gablet, roundel in apex and tripartite, vertical sliding sash windows with stone mullions, at ground and first floor.

North elevation: projecting panel at the west end and a projecting bay at east. Central panels have two windows at first floor, above two full-height windows at the ground floor. Semi-circular niche with intricately carved foliage and a central shield with decorated boss above central ground floor window.

East elevation; central projecting bay under gablet, projecting panel at the south end. Central panel has carved foliage around a central roundel in apex, with the initials `FW'. Tri-partite bay window at the ground floor with pilaster mullions and full height windows. Balustrade above central window. Rear door adjacent to bay with single light above and gauged brick head. Servants wing to south; projecting bay at the south end, under gablet.

INTERIOR. Substantially intact plan-form. Front door leads into vestibule with a tiled floor, which leads to oak panelled hall with marquetry flooring (now covered). The main open well staircase leads from the hall, lit by a central cupola. Stairs have richly carved newel posts, cast-iron balusters, decorative string brackets and rounded hand rails. The cupola has 14 lights with projecting bars, decorative central and side panels and enriched plaster edging.

High quality decorative plasterwork in principal range. Enriched cornices and ceiling roses with rosette, anthemion, swags, greek-key and foliage motifs. Alcoves throughout, contemporary mahogany-framed mirror in alcove of the dining room. All ground floor rooms have working full-height, folding shutters and shutter boxes. Back stairs located ground and first floor of campanile. Despite the addition of some C20 firedoors, the six-panel doors, window frames and skirting boards remain throughout.One stone fireplace with a hob grate and the carved initials of `FW' remain in former day nursery on the first floor.

HISTORY. Oaklands House was built by Frederick Wells, a director of the Chelmsford Brewery, on land purchased from the estate of the influential Mildmay family. The Italianate design was inspired, it is said, by Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, which Wells much admired. The architect, Charles Pertwee (1833-1905) was related to Wells by marriage. With offices in Essex and Suffolk, Pertwee became a member of the RIBA during the 1880s and produced small-scale work in both the counties. None of his other work is listed, but Pertwee undertook some of the C19 restoration to the grade I listed All Saints church, Brightlingsea.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE. Oaklands House, built in 1865, is a good example of a High Victorian suburban residence set within its own grounds. Built for a local industrialist Frederick Wells, by Charles Pertwee, Oaklands was used as a hospital in WWI and is now the borough museum. Oaklands has an asymmetric design in the Italianate style with an unusually elaborate campanile. The interior plan-form is substantially intact and the contemporary fixtures and fittings are of good quality in materials and craftsmanship. Buildings post-dating 1840 must have definite quality and character and remain substantially intact to be eligible for designation and Oaklands House meets these criteria.

Listing NGR 570248 205549

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