The Octagon

The Octagon is a house built in 1867 by J. W. Hayward, who also authored "Health and Comfort in House Buildings" in 1872. Constructed of brick with stone dressings and a slate roof, it stands three storeys high with an attic and features three bays, incorporating some gothic details. The building has sill bands, an eaves cornice, and a parapet. The entrance is located to the left within a porch supported by columns, which carries decorative iron railings that form a balcony on the first floor. To the right, there is a full-height polygonal turret with five-light windows on each floor. The central first-floor oriel is complemented by other windows with two lights, originally hermetically sealed, although many now have opening casements. There are two dormers on the roof, and chimney stacks are present on the left gable and at the rear, along with a large stack between the second and third bays at the front, which served as the upcast shaft for the original ventilation system. The house's air was drawn through the basement, filtered and warmed by a Perkins system, and then distributed to the various rooms, eventually being extracted by coal fires or elaborate gas lights, as noted by J. M. Barber in "The Octagon," published in Building Services in July 1984.