32 Pearson Park

32 Pearson Park

Semi-detached house, 1892–1893. Built in orange brick, mainly in English bond, with orange roof tiles. This is the right-hand semi-detached property; the left-hand semi-detached house (no. 31) does not form part of the listing.

The building is three storeys with a two-storey rear outshot. The front elevation faces north-west, overlooking the west end of Pearson Park, and is set back from the road with a front garden.

The front elevation is two bays. The wider, left-hand bay is gabled. It contains a square ground-floor bay with a pitched tiled roof, on which sits a narrower square first-floor bay. The ground-floor bay has two segmental-arched windows with stone sills to the front and similar, narrower single windows to each side. The front window frames contain tall two-light timber casements with horizontal rectangular overlights decorated with small-pane leaded glazing and narrow borders of stained glass. The first-floor bay is constructed of timber and has a row of three windows to the front and a single window to each side. Each window is a tall rectangular casement with an overlight of three-over-three small panes. The pitched roof has deep overhanging eaves. The second floor rises into the gable, finished in plaster and half-timbering (now painted white) with moulded bargeboards supported on shaped timber corbels and a shaped timber finial topped with decorative ironwork at the apex. A large Venetian window with moulded timber frame and small-pane glazing lights this storey.

The right-hand bay features a two-storey projecting porch with a pyramidal tiled roof. The arched doorway has a stone step and a shaped brick surround of pilasters set on high bases. Moulded imposts support a moulded arch with a giant keystone, inscribed decorative spandrels, and a deep moulded cornice. The door has two lower panels of decorative fretwork and two tall upper lights with an arched overlight above, all with small-pane leaded glazing and narrow borders of stained glass. Above the cornice is a decorative terracotta cartouche inscribed CARISBROOKE. To the right is a circular green metal plaque inscribed PHILIP / LARKIN, / POET, / LIVED HERE / 1956–1974. Above is a central first-floor window. This square-headed window has a stone sill and timber frame with two casements with small-pane glazing and an overlight with shaped framing forming three lights, corner spandrels with small-pane leaded glazing, and narrow borders of stained glass. The pyramidal roof has deep overhanging eaves. Above the porch is a deep pitched roof with a gabled dormer window lighting the second floor. The timber dormer has two casements with small-pane glazing to the front and glazed sides. The gable has moulded bargeboards with a plastered and half-timbered apex (now painted white).

The roof has decorative ridge tiles, a tall central brick ridge stack, and a second ridge stack to the left, shared with no. 31.

Interior

The interior retains its original layout and many original fixtures and fittings, including four-panel doors and moulded architraves, together with marble and timber mantelpieces. The porch has an inner timber and glazed door and screen. The upper door lights and screen lights flanking and overarching the screen all have small-pane leaded glazing of muted stained glass with roundels and thin borders of brighter stained glass. The entrance and stair hall has a modillion cornice. A closed-string staircase rises against the outer side wall. It features a heavy mahogany balustrade with turned and enriched newel posts at each turn, those to the upper flights bearing pendants, a ramped moulded handrail, and turned balusters. The first quarter landing is lit by a stained-glass window in the outer side wall. This has a heavy moulded timber frame with two narrow rectangular lights and a horizontal rectangular light above. Each window contains a central roundel of painted glass depicting birds (a heron to the left, a kingfisher to the right, and a swallow above) set in decorative stained-glass surrounds.

The second floor was Philip Larkin's flat. A landing opens onto four four-panelled doors. He used the main front room as his study. It is lit by the Venetian window with views over the park. The outer side wall has a chimneybreast with a white marble mantelpiece bearing an inscribed geometric pattern and mantelshelf corbels with orange marble detailing, plus an arched cast-iron grate. The smaller adjacent room is lit by a dormer window and has a small buff marble mantelpiece with console brackets supporting the mantelshelf and an arched cast-iron grate to the inner side wall. The main rear room is lit by a dormer window and has a chimneybreast to the outer side wall with a timber mantelpiece painted white and a cast-iron grate. Adjacent is a small room lit by a two-over-two pane sash window to the outer side elevation, formerly used as a kitchen.

On the ground floor, the front reception room has a moulded dentil cornice and a grey marble mantelpiece. The rear reception room has an enriched cornice, a beige marble mantelpiece with engaged columns, and French doors opening onto the rear garden.

Subsidiary Features

The front garden is enclosed by cast-iron railings with decorative diamond-shaped finials standing on a curved stone kerb. Towards the right-hand side, set in-line with the front door, is a wide pedestrian gateway. It has tall circular gate piers of twisted cast-iron topped by orbs with diamond finials. The gate is of cast-iron rods incorporating diamond finials, diagonal cross-bracing, and a cast-iron cartouche.