126, London Road

A house, later used as offices, was built between 1884 and 1886. Designed and built by Samuel Sherwin for W H Wheeler, it is constructed of red brick with red and blue brick detailing and slate roofs, featuring tall decorative brick chimney stacks. The building’s design incorporates a chamfered brick plinth and a moulded brick eaves cornice. The street frontage has a two-storey range to the left and a three-storey cross wing to the right. The left range has five windows arranged as a 3:1:1 pattern. A projecting two-storey porch, positioned off-centre, has a lean-to roof and a four-centre arched doorway with a brick hood mould. Above the doorway is a small casement window with a segmental head and projecting lintel supported on brick brackets. Single casements are located to the left of the porch on both floors, each with similar projecting lintels. To the right of the porch, a central window is set within a raised brick surround with a pediment bearing the date 1885. Flanking this central window are single three-light cross casements with segment-headed tops and projecting lintels on brackets. Above the central window, a small window is flanked by taller windows, all with projecting lintels. A single-storey addition in a matching style adjoins the left side, featuring a flat roof. The right cross wing has a projecting three-light cross casement under a projecting lean-to roof supported on wooden brackets. Above this is a tall casement with a segmental head and bands for the cill and lintel. A half-hipped gable incorporates a moulded brick cornice and a smaller single casement window. The rear return features a single canted bay window with casement windows, while above it is a single casement with a segmental head.

The interior of the building retains many original Victorian features, including door frames, doors, coving, fireplaces, and shutters. Significant interior details include embossed tiles in the porch, a hall with carved dado panelling and pictorial inset tiles, a fireplace with a wooden surround, tiles, and carved wooden relief panels. Carved wooden door surrounds are also present throughout. The wooden staircase has square balusters with fretwork panels, a moulded handrail, and square fluted newels topped by ball finials. A stained glass window is located on the first landing. A library or study has ornate wooden panelling, fitted shelves, seats, cupboards, a panelled wooden ceiling, and elaborate door surrounds. A wooden fire surround features grotesque carved animals and pictorial glazed tiles, incorporating pieces of 17th-century wooden carving. The dining room showcases panelling with 26 carved wooden relief panels depicting wheel subjects, a fitted sideboard with elaborate wooden panels, and a fireplace with a carved wooden surround.