Bascote House and Former Outbuildings

Bascote House and Former Outbuildings, Long Itchington

This is a farmhouse and attached outbuildings, now converted to residential use. The main house probably dates from the early 18th century with an early 19th-century addition and alterations. The former outbuildings, now numbered 1–6 Bascote Chase, also survive as part of the group.

The house is constructed of whitewashed brick laid in Flemish garden wall bond, with a storey band and dentilled eaves cornice. The roof is of plain tile with an off-centre brick ridge stack to the main range and an end gable stack to the rear wing. The former outbuilding range is also of brick, largely painted, with roofs clad in modern tile and slate.

The house has a rectangular plan with a rear wing to the south and an early 19th-century flat-roofed addition to the right (east). It was formerly a lobby-entry house, though the entrance has been relocated via a doorway in the right-hand addition. The former outbuildings to the west have a C-shaped plan facing onto a courtyard.

The main house is predominantly two storeys with its principal façade facing north. This front elevation has a four-window range with twelve-pane sashes to the ground floor and 20th-century hinged casements to the first floor. The windows have segmental-arched heads. There are two 19th-century canted bays with sashes and margin bars to the ground floor centre and right. A sash window between the bays marks the position of the original entrance, now replaced by panelled and glazed double doors in the addition. The south elevation has three- and two-light casements with leaded panes and two dormers with segmental-shaped roofs. The rear wing has sash windows to the first floor, casements to the ground floor (one of 20th-century date), and a sash at attic height in the end gable. To the west, the house is attached to the 18th-century former outbuilding ranges by a large carriage arch. The courtyard elevations have window and door openings with segmental heads and brown brick cills and late 20th-century rooflights. The north and west elevations retain some earlier openings with timber lintels, though some 20th-century inserted openings and late 20th-century rooflights are also present.

Internally, the house features a stair hall with a closed string staircase with turned balusters and a curtail step, accessed via double entrance doors with internal shutters. Two reception rooms to the right include a chamfered spine beam with scroll stops in the first room and an axial ceiling beam in the room beyond. The first reception room retains the recess and bressumer for a large inglenook fireplace. The rear wing has a large open fireplace and an enclosed winder staircase leading to the upper floors. Chamfered ceiling beams appear in the bedrooms, and there are wide elm floorboards. The attic floor in the main range retains evidence of original roof carpentry including principal trusses and a single row of purlins predating the roof raising, along with plank doors with decorative strap hinges.

The former outbuildings, now subdivided into six dwellings at Nos. 1–6 Bascote Chase, retain significant historic features. Nos. 4 and 6 have deeply chamfered spine beams to the ground floor and much of the historic roof structure, including collared roof trusses with some tie beams and a single row of pegged purlins.