Waterworks House and Cottage with Outhouses to rear

A pair of gable-fronted semi-detached houses built in the gothic style, and a pair of brick outhouses to the rear, formerly accommodation associated with the Whitacre Waterworks dating to about 1872.

MATERIALS: the houses are constructed of red brick, with stone dressings and a tiled roof.

PLAN: the pair of houses form an irregular plan, with detached outhouses to the rear of the properties.

EXTERIOR: the houses are each two bays, with a centrally located doorway. Waterworks House has an additional recessed wing to the south, which is two bays, one windowless, with a pitched roof.

The outer bays to both houses have a pair of casement windows on the ground floor, set within gothic, pointed arches. Above there is a single window within a flush gothic arch. The inner bays each have a single window to the ground and first floor. To the rear of the Waterworks Cottage is an additional circular bay with conical roof, providing views across to the associated Waterworks. Both Waterworks House and Cottage have a single-storey extension to the rear, dating to the late C20 and early C21 respectively.

The roofline is punctuated with front-facing gables; those to the outer bays are oversized. There are six large chimney stacks evenly spaced throughout the roof. A late C20 rooflight has been inserted to Waterworks House at the rear.

The windows in both properties are all understood to be replacement casements with the exception of those in the upper storey of the turret.

INTERIOR: the interior of Waterworks House has been largely unaltered, and retains numerous fireplaces throughout. The architrave and doors also largely survive.

The interior of Waterworks Cottage has been more altered, with the removal of an internal staircase which provided access to the upstairs Waterworks offices. Upstairs, a stud wall was inserted in the early-C21 to subdivide the original office space which ran from the front to the rear of the building in order to create two bedrooms. A wall has been removed which divided the property between office and accommodation to create one property. The fireplaces in the property were inserted during the early-C21. Similarly to Waterworks House, the doors and architrave survive, as well as some floor coverings.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: in the garden of each property, is a detached outhouse. Designed in a similar style to the houses, they are red brick with tiled pitched roofs and plank doors. It is understood that the original plumbing is no longer extant.