Abbotsford

Abbotsford is a former large house, now divided into three separate units, built in 1890 by architect John Douglas for Jabez S Thompson, a salt magnate from Northwich. The building features English garden wall bond construction with Ruabon red brick and a Lakeland slate roof, complemented by brick chimneys that have moulded cornices or octagonal stacks. It has an irregular plan and consists of two and three storeys with a five-bay front that displays irregular masses. The second and third bays, which are three storeys high, project under a gable and include a one-storey porch with a moulded basket-arched entrance and a terracotta date plaque set beneath a pediment. The windows are mullioned and mullioned and transomed, featuring depressed ogee heads, sill bands, and flat hood moulds. The gable displays plastered diapering. The right end bay also projects under a gable and contains a four-light mullioned and transomed window as well as a four-light mullioned window. The bay in between features a band of diapering and a continuous line of windows across both storeys. The interior has not been inspected.