Larches House

Larches House is a large building, now serving as a school, constructed in 1838 for John Lawe, a banker. It is made of red brick in Flemish bond, with sandstone dressings and a slate roof. The main structure is rectangular, with a smaller rectangular service wing attached to the rear. The house has two storeys and three symmetrical bays, with the centre bay slightly projecting forward. It features a plinth, a string course, a plain frieze, and a moulded cornice with a blocking course that has a shallow triangular upstand in the centre.

The centre of the house includes a wide rectangular porch supported by Ionic columns arranged distyle in antis, topped with a dentilled cornice and blocking course. This porch protects a round-headed doorway with a shouldered architrave, a door featuring a geometrical-patterned glazed panel, and a fanlight with radiating glazing bars. There are tall side windows with glazing bars. The ground floor has two sashed windows without glazing bars, while the first floor has three 12-pane sashes, all with panelled stone aprons and flat-arched heads.

The side walls have wider centres that project forward, each featuring a large rectangular stone bay window at ground floor level. The west bay window is adorned with Corinthian pilasters, a dentilled cornice, and a panelled parapet. Above, there are two 12-pane sashes, with the west window now having wedge lintels. The attached service block has a three-window range that also breaks forward, featuring 12-pane sashes, a hipped roof, and various additions.

Inside, there is an open-well staircase with cast-iron balusters and a mahogany handrail that has a wreathed curtail. The interior boasts fine decorations, including open-work moulded plaster cornices and a fireplace with an Ionic surround.