Commonwealth Club And Attached Railings

ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA

SP3265SW CHURCH STREET 1208-1/12/85 (East side) 19/11/53 No.3 Commonwealth Club and attached railings

GV II

Villa, now offices and attached railings. c1825, with later alterations. Pinkish-brown brick with painted stucco facades and cement-tile roof with cast-iron railings, gate and boot-scraper. PLAN: L-shaped on plan with central entrance to main range. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys on basement, 3 first-floor windows. Stucco detailing includes pilasters with horizontal rustication with laurel-wreath frieze to ends to ground floor, continuous frieze and cornice. To first floor are Corinthian pilasters, continuous architrave, frieze and cornice. To second floor are Tuscan pilasters, the capitals form part of continuous cornice. Blocking course. 2-storey central porch has similar horizontal rustication to pillars and pilasters and laurel wreaths to frieze to ground floor, surmounted by fluted Corinthian columns and plain engaged pilasters, architrave, frieze and pediment. Ground floor: 6 steps (mainly roll-edged) to central 3-panel door in tooled architrave. 6/6 sashes with sills and blind boxes. First floor: central 6-pane French windows with divided overlight, with margin-lights, blind box; two 6/6 sashes with sills and blind boxes. Recessed panel above each first-floor window. Second floor: two 6/6 sashes interrupt frieze and cornice. Basement has board door to centre and two 6/6 sashes. All windows in plain reveals. Tall end, rear and roof stacks with cornices. Half-hipped roof. Right return: 3 storeys, 3 first-floor openings. Plinth. To ground floor, ends and to either side of central bay are banded pilasters with frieze and cornice. To first floor are Corinthian pilasters to ends and pairs of pilasters to central bay, frieze, cornice. To third floor are pilasters, frieze, cornice. Ground floor: central entrance, 3 steps to 3-panel, cambered-arched door in wider, cambered-arched recess; two 6/6 sashes in plain reveals and with sills. To either side of entrance steps are bootscrapers. INTERIOR: retains original plasterwork including moulded

cornices, interrupted by later partitions. Original curved staircase with plaster niches. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: area railings and to sides of steps have acanthus finials and anthemion finials to standards, with similar gate. HISTORICAL NOTE: Church Street was laid out c1815 and built upon by c1825. Forms an architectural group with No.2 Church Terrace and Nos 5-13 (odd) Church Street (qqv). (Manning JC (Facsimile by Warwickshire County Library 1988): Glimpses of our Local Past .. Royal Leamington Spa: Royal Leamington Spa: 1895-; Cave LF: Royal Leamington Spa Its History and Development: Chichester: 1988-: 27).

Listing NGR: SP3205865410