Whitfield

Whitfield is a house with origins dating back to the 17th century, which was enlarged in the late 18th century and altered in the mid-19th century. It is constructed of brick with stone dressings and has roofs made of Welsh slate and asphalt. The building has a roughly square plan with main facades facing north and south, featuring cellars and three storeys.

The south elevation displays a symmetrical arrangement of windows with a 3:1:3 configuration, featuring glazing bar sashes and stone dressings. There are full-height three-window bows on each side, a continuous moulded stone cornice, and a moulded stone string course between the second and top floors. The central entrance is framed by four panelled pilasters that support an entablature, above which are the arms of Henrietta Archer, the wife of Edward Clive. The entrance features a glazed door with a transom light.

The north elevation includes a closed-well mid-19th century stone staircase leading to the central entry. Inside, the principal south-west room on the ground floor has a mid-18th century brown and white marble fireplace, while the corresponding room to the south-east features an Italian white marble fireplace, possibly from the mid-19th century. A late 19th century oak dog-leg staircase leads to an oak gallery in the style of Rurdbogenstyl, which has three round-headed openings on each side supported by piers and attached columns reminiscent of those found in a barn from around 1600 located to the north.

The third floor was added in the mid- to late-19th century. The house underwent a reduction around 1949-53 when mid-19th century additions were demolished, and at that time, the external closed-well staircase was relocated to the north front. The Clive family moved to this house from Wormbridge Court in Herefordshire during the 1790s.