Music Room

This is a garden pavilion, later adapted as a shop and flat, dating to circa 1730. It was extensively restored in the early 1970s following a period of dereliction. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar, with rubble to the sides and rear, and has a slate roof behind a parapet. The facade is tall and narrow, with three storeys and three bays, the central bay being wider. The lower two storeys feature fluted pilasters: Ionic on the ground floor and Corinthian on the first floor, which support entablatures. The attic storey has panelled pilasters and a cornice below a balustrade. The central first-floor glazing bar sash window has a moulded surround with a swan-necked pediment supported by brackets and a central urn. Flanking this are similar sashes in simpler surrounds. Above are three smaller nine-pane sashes, the central one again with a moulded surround. The ground floor has doorways with architraves, above which are round-headed windows with moulded imposts. The wide, central round-arched opening is now glazed and features moulded imposts, a mask keystone, and scrollwork spandrel decoration.

The principal room, on the first floor, has very richly decorated plasterwork wall and ceiling ornamentation dating to circa 1730. Above the fireplace is a depiction of the god Apollo with his lyre, with flanking plaster panels containing central medallion heads representing the Muses – a motif also repeated on the other walls. Above a heavy cornice, the ceiling displays Ceres surrounded by garlands of fruit and flowers, and medallions bearing portraits of Roman emperors.

The pavilion was likely built by Oliver Marton Senior in the garden of No. 76 Church Street, following his purchase of the house in 1723 and before his death in 1744. The plasterwork has been linked to Francesco Vassalli due to its similarity to work he undertook at Towneley Hall in 1729-30. The building was subsequently restored and converted by the Landmark Trust.