Bridge House

Bridge House

A house designed by architect Mervyn Seal for himself and completed in 1958.

The building is constructed of plum-coloured and brindle brickwork laid in stretcher bond. The upper storey is largely timber-framed, hung with hand-cut slates, and has a flat, felted roof.

The house is arranged over two storeys. The ground floor, which is partially set into a hillside at its southern end, contains service rooms, a reception room, a shower room, garage and carport. Bedrooms and living rooms occupy the first floor, positioned to take advantage of the views, with bedrooms to the north of the staircase hall and living rooms to the south. Full-storey-height sheltering wing walls extend to the east at the northern end by the garage and to the south, where an original L-shaped shelter wall that once extended to the south and then west to wrap around two sides of the terrace has been partially absorbed into a later extension, now forming a study and pergola.

The entrance front features brindle brick walling to the right of the ground floor, where the building line is slightly recessed. The left side is of plum-coloured bricks extending across both floors. At the centre-right of the ground floor is a void forming a carport. To its right is a garage with an up-and-over door and a projecting shelter wall at the far right corner. To the left of the void is the entrance with a glazed screen and door. A deep middle rail, common to both door and screen, carries the original projecting lettering for 'BRIDGE HOUSE', along with a letter box cover, bell push and door handle. To the left is a slit window at the top of the ground floor in brindle brickwork. Further left, plum brickwork extends upwards over both floors with a slit window at first floor level. The first floor projects slightly over the ground floor at the right. The walling is clad with hand-cut slates and the two windows are of full height. A deep projecting fascia with exposed panelled soffits extends around the entire building.

The north wall is blank to both floors, with brindle bricks at ground level and a shelter wall extending to the west. The first floor overhangs slightly and is clad with hand-cut slates. The corners are recessed and painted white.

The garden front, which overlooks the landscape of Condover Hall, has brindle brickwork to the ground floor and a slate-hung first floor. The right-hand side of the ground floor is partly masked by steps leading to the pergola and terrace. The ground floor has slit windows at the top of the garage wall at the left and the entrance hall to the right of the carport. A glazed door with deep mid rail leads to a lobby; to its right, the sill of a slit window has been dropped to create a deeper window in a style sympathetic to the original. At first floor level there are three bays of full-height glazing to the left for the bedrooms. At right of centre is a three-light window, and at the far right a full-height window turns the corner. Recessed further right is the later addition with four full-height glazed panels with sliding doors at centre. The projecting pergola continues the line of the painted fascia board at eaves level.

Interior

The essentials of the original plan remain, except for an added bathroom in the space of the third bedroom and a study extension at the southern end, which uses a side wall of the former sheltered terrace and aligns with the rest of the house. Walls are clad with pine boards, running vertically at ground floor level around the entrance hall and horizontally at first floor level along the eastern wall. The staircase has mahogany treads with no risers, supported by a single beam from which metal tubes extend to support the mahogany handrail. The cloakroom and ground-floor reception room have variegated marble flooring which appears to have been salvaged from elsewhere. At first floor level, slit lights run along the tops of external and internal walls, appearing above doors as fanlights, creating an impression of connected flow of space. The dividing wall between the stair landing and dining area is glazed with horizontal strips of frosted glass. West of the dining area is the kitchen with a countertop breakfast bar opening onto the dining room. Double doors at the southern end lead through to the living room, which has a fireplace to its north wall, originally with a stone rubble surround but now plastered.

Original fitted wardrobes in the bedrooms, with internal drawers and hanging space, are positioned along the eastern wall, leaving the west walls free for windows facing over the parkland view.

The small glass house and attached pergola at the northern end of the west side of the house are not included in the listing.