16, Norfolk Road B15

No. 16, Norfolk Road is an office building formerly used as a house. It was designed by Yeoville Thomason and built between 1854 and 1857 for James Heacock Bodington, a miller. The building was greatly extended in the early 20th century for Sir William Waters Butler. It is constructed of red brick with stone dressings and a slate roof, with two storeys, attics and a basement.

The entrance front, facing west onto Norfolk Road, displays three symmetrical bays at its centre, which appear to form the principal part of the original house. Quoins mark the corners and a band runs between the floors. At the centre stands a prominent porch with Corinthian pillars and pilaster responds, featuring a richly-decorated late 19th-century mosaic floor. Either side of the porch are tripartite windows with brackets supporting a projecting frieze and cornice. The first floor has three sash windows with margin glazing and projecting heads, matching the ground floor pattern. Deep eaves are supported by a series of small wooden brackets, likely part of the later alterations. To the left are recessed later additions, two bays repeating the entrance front pattern. To the right, also recessed, is a conservatory of eleven bays with arched heads.

The garden front shows at far left a single-storey ballroom block with a bay window of curved corners and similar windows to each flank, connected to the house by the conservatory, six bays of which are visible from this elevation. The main body has at left a prominent circular turret at its corner. This features sash windows divided by pilaster strips at ground and first floor levels, whilst at attic level are panels of stonework, small windows and shaped gables with spiked ball finials. Crowning it is a shaped lead dome of faintly ogee profile rising to a central decorative finial. To the right of the turret are tripartite windows with French windows lighting the dining and drawing rooms. Further right is a projecting wing with colonnade at ground floor level, connecting to the billiard room wing which has an angled oriel window to the first floor and a prominent skylight to the roof.

The early 20th-century remodelling considerably altered the plan of the original building, creating a spacious reception and staircase hall with passageways to the rear, conservatory and ballroom. Only a single room from the earlier plan survives, located to the right of the front door. This contains a remodelled fireplace with oak surround and copper relief panels. The entrance hall features richly carved panelling with a dentilled cornice below the plate shelf, deeply carved door surrounds and a fire surround with carved overmantel. Separate lavatories for men and women branch off from the hall, both displaying richly decorated wall and floor tiling and stained glass windows including peacock motifs.

The ballroom has a segmental vault divided into panels by plaster moulding bands and grilles at the centre, apparently for gas lighting. Bay windows to the north, south and east sides have fixed, upholstered bench seating with radiators underneath. The west side contains a fireplace flanked by doors from the conservatory, with wooden panelling featuring carved wreath, ribbon and drops to the overmantel. The dining room has plasterwork and panelling in French style, extending into the turret, whilst the drawing room displays Jacobean ceiling motifs with strapwork decoration and pendant bosses, and a similar fireplace with overmantel featuring caryatids.

The staircase is sumptuously moulded with heavy, richly carved newels and balusters, beneath a heavily moulded ceiling featuring three stained glass skylight panels at the centre. The first floor landing has scagliola columns with Ionic capitals and a large stained glass window facing west. One bedroom retains Adamesque ornament to ceiling and walls, including harebells and rinceau ornament, with an adjoining dressing room of similar decoration. The first floor billiard room has a deeply coved ceiling with plaster swags and ribbons in high relief and a central three-panel skylight. Several other bedrooms retain strapwork or Adamesque decoration including fire surrounds.

The house was built for James Heacock Bodington and sold by him in 1860, subsequently becoming known as Southfield. In the early 20th century it was purchased by Sir William Waters Butler of Mitchell's and Butler's brewers, who undertook the extensive additions and alterations. The building remained in domestic use into the 20th century but has latterly served as offices. The listing does not include the single-storey garage block, canopy or two-storey service wing to the north of the house.