Bishopsbarns And Garden Wall And Gates Attached At Front

Bishopsbarns and Garden Wall and Gates Attached at Front, York

A house with attached garden wall and gates, designed in 1905 by the architect WH Brierley for his own residence. The plasterwork is by G Bankart and the gardens were laid out by Gertrude Jekyll.

The building is constructed of handmade red-orange brick laid in English bond with moulded brick and tile dressings. The roofs are of handmade tile, steeply pitched over the centre range at the front with four segment gabled dormers. The tall brick stacks are banded, quoined, corniced, and some are conjoined and diagonally set.

The front elevation presents a complex composition. The centre range rises to two storeys with attics, featuring five irregularly disposed windows. To the left is a two-storey gabled crosswing, and to the right a cross-gabled wing of two storeys with attic. The off-centre double front doors have inset glazing and sit beneath a shallow segment-arched porch supported on flat brackets. Windows in the centre range contain one, two or three diamond-latticed mullioned lights, except for the staircase window which is transomed and has decorative glazing bars. The left wing has two single-light windows on both floors with an extruded stack at the gable apex over a sunk brick panel in a moulded brick surround. The right wing features a four-light mullioned and transomed window on the ground floor, and on the first floor a tripartite window with segment-arched centre casements beneath a full-width hoodmould. The gable contains a tiny square-headed window in the apex beneath a stepped-up hoodmould, surrounded by raised bands and panels of decorative brickwork.

The rear elevation is more complex, with predominantly one storey though with multiple gabled and cross-gabled elements. The left end has an attic with a three-light window in a gableted dormer. The attic to the right of centre features a six-light raking dormer window. To the left of centre is a two-storey cross-gabled wing, with a gableted crosswing at the right end. At the right of centre is a canted trabeated loggia, with deeply recessed glazed and panelled doors and mullioned windows (four-light and two-light) to left and right respectively. The left wing has a six-light transomed window on the ground floor and a similar window on the first floor over a dentilled sill band beneath a soldier brick arch and triple-arched hoodmould. The gable above is filled with bands and strings of cogged brick with a tiny pointed window in the apex. The right wing has a five-light mullioned window on the ground floor and a similar four-light window on the first floor.

The left return elevation rises two storeys over two bays. The left bay is gabled and filled with bands and panels of decorative brickwork, with a canted bay on the ground floor containing a six-light Ipswich window. On the first floor is a five-light mullioned window with a centre light arched, a brick dentilled sill band and hood. The gable above is filled with decorative brickwork. To the right are five-light mullioned windows on both floors, the ground floor one having a pent hood. Throughout the building, windows are generally square-latticed casements, some with top-hung lights, and all are set in wooden pegged oak frames.

The interior retains much of Brierley's original arrangement. The only significant alteration has been some modernisation of the kitchen and bathroom. The outer lobby is lined with original Delft tiles collected by Brierley. The inner front door screen is of linenfold panelling. The inner and outer halls and drawing room are panelled in square wainscotting, while the dining room retains its original wallpaper. The drawing and dining rooms have moulded plaster ceilings: the drawing room ceiling is barrel-vaulted with isolated flower motifs, incorporating the initials WHB and GB, and a guardian angel holding a model of the house; the dining room ceiling is divided into three bays by heavy plaster beams, each division displaying a zodiac sign in each corner. The inner hall has a moulded cornice. The drawing room, dining room and inner hall contain stone fireplaces, those in the drawing and dining rooms in carved wood surrounds, with the drawing room example having tiled slips. The drawing room and staircase windows incorporate original painted glass. The main staircase has an open string with stocky turned balusters and square newels. Original light fittings survive throughout the ground floor. The service rooms retain built-in cupboards, pantry shelving, a stone sink and other original fittings.

The garden wall fronts the full width of the site, returning at each end of the centre range to form a forecourt of small cobbled squares. The wall is approximately two metres high, constructed of handmade English bonded brick and incorporating lozenge panels of raised brickwork with a dentilled cornice beneath a sloped coping. The piers are square on plan with flat caps and ball finials. The garden gate at the far left end is boarded, mounted on strap hinges and has a segment-arched timber overthrow. The back gate at the far right end is of turned timber bars and dog bars in a segment-headed frame. All woodwork associated with the gates and garden wall is of untreated oak.