Grove House

Grove House

A house of the late 18th century, built for the owners of Kirk Mill, with extensions added in the mid to later 19th century.

The building is constructed from local squared, water-shot sandstone on the front and sides, with slobbered sandstone to the rear. It is roofed in Welsh slate.

The plan is L-shaped, comprising a late 18th-century rectangular range oriented north to south, with a mid to later 19th-century single-storey eastern extension and lean-to addition.

The exterior presents an asymmetric, two-storey sandstone building with an attic beneath a pitched slate roof. Full-height quoins appear at the south-west and north-west corners, part-height quoins at the south-east corner, and full-height quoins at the north-east corner, where long quoins project from a modified east gable. A moulded eaves cornice projects slightly to the east beyond the gable end, further suggesting remodelling of the gable.

The main south elevation faces away from the mill. Its round-arched entrance at the west end contains a six-panel door with a fanlight over, set within a plain surround with impost blocks. To the right are single window openings to the ground and first floors, set within plain surrounds with projecting sills and fitted with 10-over-10 unhorned sliding sash windows. Cast-iron rainwater goods are present.

The west gable contains a window opening in a plain rectangular surround to each floor: a tall Tudor-arched frame to the ground floor, a horned sash frame to the first floor, and a fixed four-pane frame to the attic. The east gable has an attic window and a chimney stack to each roof pitch, linking to a pair of flues within the wall thickness.

Attached to the rear of the east gable is a shallow single-storey extension in matching stone, with a 10-over-10 sash window frame to the south elevation and a single window to the east gable. A later lean-to extension is also attached. The rear north elevation features a blocked ground floor window with a stone lintel and a large inserted camber-headed window within a concrete surround to the ground and first floors. The rear entrance has a convex-moulded stone surround with corner bosses and a six-panel door. The rear elevation of the eastern extension contains an inserted 20th-century bow window.

The interior comprises an entrance passage with replacement narrow floorboards and openings to south and north reception rooms. Both openings are fitted with moulded and reeded architraves and six-panel doors. The south reception room retains panelled shutters and soffit to the window, a picture rail, and a fitted cupboard with reeded decoration and leaded upper lights, together with a simple stone fireplace. The north reception room retains wide floorboards, a fitted cupboard with reeded surround and leaded upper lights, and a fireplace with an inserted Edwardian timber chimney piece.

An inserted arched entrance connects the south reception room to the mid to later 19th-century extension, which has a large stone fireplace to its west wall. A six-panel door also opens into this extension.

The original straight flight with winder staircase is retained at the north-east corner. While it is possible that it has been turned through 180 degrees, there is little evidence of modification to fit a changed position. The staircase has simple stick balusters, a closed string with reeded decoration, moulded newel posts, and a moulded handrail ramped to the first floor double newel posts, which are accompanied by a balustrade of stick balusters.

The first floor has a reeded architrave at the top of the stairs and six-panel doors to the rooms, one of which is a replacement. One room retains a fitted cupboard with reeded mouldings to the right of a small stone fireplace. The staircase rises to the attic storey, where boarded wooden doors remain to the partitioned spaces. Parts of the original roof structure are exposed, including purlins supported on stone corbels.