The Firs And Attached Annex

The Firs is a large house, built in 1851 by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, and subsequently altered. It is constructed of stucco over brick, with slate roofs, and occupies an irregular linear plan aligned east to west. The building is two and three storeys high, with cellars beneath.

The north facade, which serves as the main entrance front, is asymmetrical, displaying a window arrangement of 4:2:1 at the first floor level. A two-window section projects forward, while the single-window portion on the right has a projected ground floor. The facade features a diamond-patterned string-course, modillioned eaves, and twelve-pane sash windows with moulded architraves. The projecting two-window section originally contained a turret over the left bay, and now houses a porch to the left and the staircase to the right. The doorway has a round-headed design with a moulded head and volute keystone, flanked by side windows. The door itself is panelled and glazed, featuring a fanlight with radiating glazing bars, and an inner door with two round-headed glazed panels containing gold ornament. Banded pilasters are present at the first floor of the left bay, and a glazed false window is positioned to the right at ground floor. A curved, single-story link connects the four-window range to the left to the attached Annex, which was formerly a coach-house and office. Set back on the left end is a three-story service wing.

The south facade, overlooking the garden, has a window arrangement of 3:3:2. The central section projects, and the service wing on the right-hand end is set back and three-storied. This facade features windows with moulded architraves; those at ground floor are shouldered, while single-story canted bays are present within the projection and in the centre of the left range, which has French windows. Four-pane sashes are found at ground floor, with windows featuring altered glazing at the first floor. The second floor of the service wing has low tripartite windows with console-shaped mullions.

The main range has gable chimneys, and two ridge chimneys. The service wing is topped with a hipped roof and two chimneys, one of which is particularly large. Inside, the house contains a fine, generously-proportioned open-well staircase with ornamented cast-iron balusters.