Rampart House

RAMPART HOUSE, COLLEGE PLACE, BERWICK UPON TWEED

A large townhouse constructed shortly after 1799 with mid-late 19th-century additions, situated in a prominent position on a sloping site.

The building is constructed of painted incised render with a painted plinth and stone dressings. The roof is of Welsh slate with stone gable copings and yellow brick chimneys. The property is rectangular in plan, aligned north-south, and is cut into the slope so that access from the east is to the first floor and from the west and south at ground floor level.

The structure comprises three storeys. The southern bay, a later addition, is divided from the circa 1799 section by a line of stone gable coping and a chimney. The east, main facade has four bays with side steps leading up to a platform in front of the main entrance in the third bay. This entrance is enclosed in a 20th-century porch set within a 19th-century wrought iron stair balustrade. There is a wood-plank door with strap hinges to the south face of the external stair. Windows to the top two floors are four-pane sashes in raised stone surrounds, while the ground floor has two small 20th-century windows to the south of the stair. The west, garden front has a mixture of four and two-pane sashes set irregularly; the first floor of the original section is blind. At ground-floor level there is a modern door to the centre of this section, giving access to a self-contained flat. The south gable has a late 19th-century six-panel door and a small window to the second floor, while the north gable end facing the Ramparts is blind.

The first floor of the circa 1799 section is accessed via the porch entrance to the east or the service range to the south. Directly opposite the main entrance there is a closed string, straight-flight stair with a room to either side. Both rooms have mid-19th-century high quality marble fire surrounds with later inserts; the room to the south has a 20th-century gas fire, while that to the north has an Art Nouveau, late 19th-century grate. Both rooms retain their window shutters, picture rails, skirting and architraves. Doors to this floor are four-panel, except for a wood-plank cupboard door to the south room and a late 19th-century six-panel external door to the porch.

The second floor has a corridor running along the west side of the building and a room on either side of the stair; the northern bedroom spans the depth of the property. Window shutters, skirting and architraves survive to both rooms and the corridor. The wood fire surround and grate to the north room is mid-19th-century, while the surround to the south appears to be a circa 1799 survival retaining the supply for a gas fitting to the mantel, with a mid-19th-century grate. All doors are four-panel except for a wood-plank cupboard door with strap hinges to the north room. The south end of the corridor has been knocked through into the later range. This section houses small ancillary rooms plus a separate W.C. and bathroom with roll top bath, both retaining their wainscoting. All doors are four-panel and the supply for a gas fitting to the landing remains in situ.

The ground floor of the circa 1799 section currently houses a self-contained flat. Some late 19th-century doors and architraves survive, however the area has been largely modernised, with a kitchen and bathroom inserted. Any original fireplaces have been removed, while structural beams have been exposed by the current owner.

The ground floor of the south bay retains a late 19th-century range to the north wall and a winder stair leading to the first floor with stick balusters to the south east. A former storage room or larder with later kitchen cupboards is housed under the stair. The first floor landing has a room off to the west with a four-panel door and an Art Nouveau style fireplace. The original section of the house is accessed via an inserted opening which appears to have been knocked through the former cupboard to the main room. A supply for a gas fitting survives above the opening to the landing.

Roof timbers to the original section of the building are a mixture of hewn and sawn, suggesting some later repair.

The building was constructed shortly after 1799, the site having been referred to as a garden on deeds of this date. It is clearly depicted on John Wood's map of 1822. It was built as a symmetrical, three-bay house with a later bay added to the south. This extension is thought to have been constructed in the mid-19th century and received a later upgrade of fittings in the late 19th century judging by its Art Nouveau detailing, although map evidence is not conclusive and there is a possibility it may have been added in the late 19th century. An additional projection to the south was demolished some time after the 1932 Ordnance Survey map; this is likely to have been a lean-to outbuilding or similar. At some point after the 1924 Ordnance Survey map an entrance porch was added to the east, atop the earlier external stair. The current owner bought the property in 1989 and since this time has updated the original section of the ground floor for letting purposes. The function of this ground floor was superseded by the addition of the service range to the south.