Belmont

Belmont is a late 18th-century house that was enlarged in the early 19th century. A small scullery extension to the service range was added before 1846, and a small rear elevation extension was added in the mid-19th century. The listing does not include the 1890s billiard room, which was extended to provide a school room between 1920 and 1934, altered and enlarged with the addition of a second storey in the 1980s, nor the 1980s two-storey blocks built to the rear of the original house, nor the semi-circular conservatory added in 1995.

The building is constructed of brick with stucco and has slate roofs. It is two storeyed with a central main entrance on the north elevation of the villa, flanked by two curved bay windows, and a former service range on the west side which projects to the rear.

The villa stands on the east side of Schools Hill with the front elevation facing north, formerly overlooking the main drive running north-south through its estate. The front elevation is of two storeys and five bays, faced in incised painted stucco with a plinth, alternating vermiculated quoins and a modillion eaves cornice. It is symmetrical, with a central doorway flanked by large, full-height curved bows and outer pavilion bays with triangular pediments with modillion cornices. The doorway has two curved stone steps and a wide, moulded architrave incorporating a fluted door architrave with bulls-eye corner blocks and narrow side panels with lower panels with a moulded frame and an upper round-headed niche. Overarching is a basket-arched overlight with a moulded frame with a diamond-pointed keystone. The door is currently boarded up. Immediately above is a small semi-circular balcony supported on two console brackets with relief-carved heads. The balcony has a decorative cast-iron balustrade, now partially broken, and glazed double doors with a moulded architrave and shallow canopy supported on shaped, moulded console brackets. The curved bows have square-headed tripartite windows on both floors with pilaster architraves and shallow canopies supported on enriched shaped consoles. The wider central windows have two-over-two pane unhorned sashes and the outer windows have one-over-one pane unhorned sashes. The outer pavilion bay to the left-hand side has alternating vermiculated quoins to both sides, and the outer pavilion on the right-hand side has similar quoins only to the outer corner. Both floors have a vertical rectangular window with similar pilaster architraves and shallow canopies on enriched shaped consoles. The windows have two-over-two pane unhorned sashes.

The rear elevation is largely obscured. It is built of brick, as is the projecting two-bay mid-19th century extension. The extension has square-headed windows with stone sills on both floors, with modern window frames.

The east side elevation, the former morning room, has two original two-storey bays to the right-hand side with incised painted stucco and alternating vermiculated quoins to the right outer corner, with a parapet above the modillion eaves cornice. At ground-floor level there is a tall square-headed doorway to the right with a shallow canopy on enriched, shaped consoles. It is boarded with a two-pane rectangular overlight. To the left is a square-headed window, also with a canopy on enriched shaped consoles, with two similarly detailed windows at first-floor level with two-over-two pane unhorned sashes.

The west side elevation, the former service range, is of two storeys with a basement and five bays with a plinth and incised painted stucco. The second and fifth bays have square-headed doorways with shallow canopies with shaped consoles. The first, third and fourth bays on the ground floor and all the first-floor bays have square-headed windows with slightly projecting stone sills and eight-over-eight pane unhorned sashes, with ground-floor windows boarded. Beneath the stone step of the second-bay doorway is a flight of steps down to the cellar. The rear elevation is built of brick and is largely obscured by a modern range to the left, with only the small mid-19th century extension visible. On the ground floor there are two basket-arched windows, with three square-headed windows on the first floor with stone sills and two-over-two pane horned sashes. The modern range obscuring the rear elevation of the west service range, the semi-circular conservatory inserted on the ground floor of the east elevation of the villa and the brick extended and heightened east range incorporating the former billiard room and school room are not of special interest.

The original villa and service range retain their historic layout, with some modern lightweight partition walls inserted. The secondary staircase in the service range has been removed, but the position is clear. Many fixtures and fittings remain. These include modillion cornices to the entrance hall, staircase hall and east spine corridors, and the majority of doorways in the villa have moulded architraves with square moulded corner blocks to both sides, panelled reveals and soffits and six-panelled doors, with some in less prominent positions having moulded architraves with panelled reveals.

The entrance hall has a timber screen with moulded architraves with moulded corner blocks incorporating the front door, which is damaged, and panels to each side with a modillion cornice below the overlight. The ceiling has a plaster acanthus leaf ceiling rose. The hall leads into the staircase hall through a wide, square-headed archway with similar moulded architraves with moulded corner blocks, panelled reveals and soffit. The large, square staircase hall is top-lit by a circular glazed lantern with coved panelling with flower bosses. The open well staircase is cantilevered with shaped stone steps and a curtail step and a wrought-iron balustrade with a swept mahogany handrail. At ground-floor level is a circular, cast-iron hot air stove, mentioned in 1834 sales particulars.

The two principal reception rooms have bowed outer walls. The original drawing room to the left of the entrance hall has a delicate enriched cornice and oval ceiling rose featuring ribbons, dolphins, acanthus leaves, flowers and an outer frame of oak leaves and acorns. There are delicate wall paintings of shaped, decorative panels and acanthus leaves, now mostly covered by wall paper. The tripartite window has a timber frame with moulded mullions with square moulded blocks, panelled reveals, soffit and apron. The original dining room to the right of the entrance hall also has a delicate enriched cornice and an acanthus leaf ceiling rose. The chimney breast in the centre of the west side wall has a painted timber mantelpiece with an eared fireplace surround, bolection moulding and central fluted block below the mantelshelf. In the centre of the rear wall is a shallow buffet alcove with the rear doorway to the left. It has a painted timber frame with delicate fluted pilasters and a fluted and acanthus-leaf wrapped basket arch and panelled reveals and soffit. The rear room to the left of the staircase hall has an originally external doorway in the rear wall with a moulded architrave with moulded corner blocks incorporating a rectangular overlight above the six-panelled door.

The north room on the ground floor of the service range has a wide chimney breast to the inner, east wall. It has a simple painted timber mantelpiece, the lintel continued to the right with contemporary inbuilt cupboards above and below with panelled double doors. The outer doorway has a four-panelled door and a bottom-hinged, four-pane overlight.

On the first floor the archway between the staircase hall and the east spine corridor has shaped and fluted pilasters and capitals and a moulded basket arch. The archway between the west spine corridor and the service range has pilasters with an incised Greek key pattern, moulded capitals and a basket arch. The tripartite windows in the rooms with the bowed outer walls have panelled aprons and moulded cornices. The narrow central room with the balcony, the former dressing room, retains a moulded cornice.