Ossington Hotel And Adjoining Garden Walls And Summerhouse

Ossington Hotel and adjoining garden walls and summerhouse, Newark on Trent

This former temperance coffee house, now an hotel, was built in 1882 by the architects Ernest George & Peto for Viscountess Ossington. It is constructed in brick with blue brick and stone dressings, topped by a plain tile roof with single prominent side wall, rear wall and ridge stacks, all coped. The building is designed in the Vernacular Revival style.

The main frontage is 2 storeys plus attics, presented as a 6-window range. Each window is a square oriel window of 12 lights with wooden mullions and transoms. Between the fourth and fifth windows stands an inscribed sundial. A large wrought iron bracket lamp is mounted to the right of this. Above the oriel windows, to the left, are 3 linked half-timbered gables, each containing 7 casements with panelled gables.

The ground floor features a 6-bay elliptical arched open arcade, with the right opening serving as a carriage entrance. To the left is a half-glazed door with sidelights, flanked by single 4-light glazing bar windows fronted by railings, all with overlights. To their right are 2 doors with sidelights; the left one has a pargetted tympanum, the right an overlight.

The right gable end displays 2 square cross-mullioned oriel windows with a balustraded gallery. Above this is a close-studded gable containing an 8-light cross mullioned window. Below are two openings to the arcade: one for general access and one carriage entrance, both with elliptical arches and wrought iron gates. An angle buttress with an inscribed dated panel marks the left end.

The left end features a gallery and 3 oriel windows similar to the right end. Above is a close-studded double gable with two 8-light cross mullioned windows. Two 4-light glazed doors with overlights are provided, and beyond the boundary wall is a smaller opening to the arcade with an elliptical arch.

The rear wing is single storey plus attics with a ridge stack. It comprises a 9-bay glazed arcade with turned wooden posts and arch braces. Above are 4 hipped dormers with 3-light casements, and a larger dormer with a 4-light cross mullioned window.

The building is fronted by a plinth with a pargetted frieze and moulded wooden eaves. All external joinery features moulded details consistent with the Vernacular Revival aesthetic.

The garden walls and summerhouse are integral to the listing. A curved garden wall on the river side is constructed of dressed stone with brick bands and rounded coping, featuring 2 half-round turrets and an elaborate wrought iron gate with overthrow and lantern. At the end stands a square wooden summerhouse with a hipped tile roof and 2 segment-headed openings with turned wooden posts. A smaller curved wall at the town end has chamfered coping and a plain gateway.

Interior spaces include an L-plan first floor room with panelled dado, pargetted frieze and cross beam ceiling, with moulded cases to doors and windows. Other first floor rooms feature moulded cornices, and one contains a pedimented corner fireplace. A cantilevered concrete open well stair with wrought iron balustrade provides vertical circulation. The attics are finished with a principal rafter roof with arch braces, panelled walls and fitted benches, together with a fireplace incorporating an overmantel.