54, St Edward Street

This is a mid-18th century house, now used as offices, with later 19th-century additions, likely designed by Larner Sugden, to the rear. The building is constructed of brick with a plain-tiled roof. The exterior has three storeys and a five-window front, with a central entrance hall. A rear wing connects to a parallel rear range, which is probably contemporary with or slightly later than the main facade. The doorcase is topped with a pediment supported by scrolled console brackets. The windows are 12-pane sash windows with heavy astragals, with no glazing bars in the lower panes of the ground-floor windows. Painted stone cills and flat-arched gauged brick heads are present. Lead rainwater goods feature decorative leadwork, including feather-like designs on the rainwater head and fleur-de-lys motifs on the mounting straps. A painted moulded stone eaves cornice runs along the top of the building, with coped gables and end wall stacks. The rear roof slopes down over a full-height outshut, which appears to be a separate building phase and houses the mid-18th century staircase, featuring a bulls-eye window on the upper floor. Later 19th-century additions to the rear include two full-height bay windows on the south side of the rear wing – one canted with “Ipswich” windows with leaded upper lights on the first and second floors, and one squared with a timber frame and brick infill. The side windows of this wing are 12-pane sash windows, while the front features tripartite sash windows on each floor. A narrower upper stage is likely a later addition. Further 19th-century additions are found in the courtyard formed by the two parallel ranges and the rear wing, including a billiard room with a mono-pitched roof and leaded glazing in round-arched, arcaded windows facing north. A half-timbered storeyed wing is attached to the front range, likely to house bathrooms, with projecting three-light mullioned windows with leaded lights on each floor. A similarly styled wing is attached to the rear range. The interior was not inspected. The house was formerly occupied by Joshua Wardle, and additions were likely made during his time. His son, Thomas Wardle, received visits from William Morris, and stylistic evidence suggests that Larner Sugden was responsible for the alterations.