Boughton House

Boughton House, Chester

A house dating from the mid to late 17th century, substantially altered in the late 19th century, which later served as a workhouse and convent before conversion to offices and factory storage. Originally formed a single property with No.13 Sandy Lane (known as "Craigside") until the 1920s, when the two were separated. The two wings now forming No.13 Sandy Lane intersect at right angles; the north-easterly wing appears to have connected with the main block at half landing level, while the south-westerly wing stands free in relation to Boughton House.

The south-west block is three storeys high, constructed of red-brown 17th-century brick with flush sandstone quoins at the south and west corners. A parapet and gable parapet with plain sandstone coping and moulded sandstone band course at second-floor level crown the structure. The remainder of the block is faced with late 19th-century lined stucco. The south-east wall features a deep parapet and the north-east wall a gable parapet, both with plain sandstone coping.

The south-west end wall contains two 12-pane sashes to the first and second floors, set beneath wedge lintels in Ruabon brick. The north-west end wall has a tripartite sash to the second floor and a French window to the first floor, both with moulded hoods and consoles. The second floor of the south-east wall contains one lancet window with leaded lights and 19th-century painted glass. At ground-floor level on the south-west end wall, a 19th-century chapel wing projects as a canted bay with Ruabon glazed-brick parapet and terracotta semicircular-headed mullioned windows with leaded lights and 19th-century painted glass. The ground-floor wing to the north-east wall features a terracotta balustrade forming a balcony to the first floor.

The north-west late 19th-century block forms a new frontage, three storeys high, with shallow symmetrically arranged bays in an E-plan configuration executed in early 17th-century manner. A hipped slate roof with hipped gables to the terminal wings, crowned by terracotta finials, covers the structure. Ruabon glazed brick forms the external surface, with moulded coping and cornice in red terracotta. Moulded band courses at first and second-floor levels are executed in terracotta. A terracotta pediment above the main central entrance is surmounted by a terracotta cross. The entrance door comprises double 4-panel doors beneath a basket arch. The fenestration consists of 12-pane sashes, one window to each storey of each bay except at ground and first-floor level of the non-projecting bays, which have two 8-pane sashes.

The interior retains significant 17th-century features. A dog-legged closed-string staircase of oak rises through the building with a 90-degree winder to the lower part. The flights to the first floor and the lower flight to the second floor display barley-sugar on vase balusters. The upper flight to the second floor and the second-floor landing have stick balusters with square newels bearing an astragal mould and moulded pyramidal cap. The handrail is heavy with astragal moulds.

The second floor retains two 17th-century oak doors, one of two panels with wide stiles and rails and bolection panels with reverse ogee moulds. The landing to the first floor features a 17th-century plaster ceiling bounded by a scotia-type cornice with rose-petal motif at each corner. The ceiling is subdivided into four panels with a central roundel defined by ribbed astragal moulding with floral stops. Each panel contains a central floral medallion. A central circular boss bearing an armorial devise is set within the roundel, depicting a griffin mounted on a saddle above an angled shield. The arms appear to incorporate elements of the Lathom family of Astbury and Congleton, a branch of the Stanley family. The outer circumference of the roundel is ornamented with rose-petal motifs, stalks, and opening buds.

The rooms to the first floor are fitted with chamfered beams with chamfered stops. All other interior details are Victorian. The chapel wing retains an arched wooden screen.