St Francis' Presbytery, Birmingham

St Francis' Presbytery, Birmingham

This is an early 19th-century villa combining Gothic and classical motifs, to which a Gothic-revival extension was added around 1843 by AWN Pugin. The building is constructed of brick with stone dressings, colourwashed stucco render, and a slate roof. It comprises two storeys and an attic.

The southern front faces onto Naden Road. The left portion, dating from the early 19th century, has three bays with canted bays of two storeys set at either side of the entrance. The left bay bears a circular English Heritage blue plaque at first floor level recording that the house was lived in by John Hardman, 1811–1867, Master Metalworker and Stained Glass Maker. Windows have two or three lights with mullions and transoms. At the centre, approached by a short flight of broad steps, is a porch with a moulded door surround flanked by cusped niches to the upper wall and arched recesses for boot-scrapes below. To the right of these three bays are three further bays added by Pugin, with two-light windows with mullions and transoms to the ground floor and two-light mullioned windows at first floor level. At the far right is a ground floor doorway masked by a later glazed porch. Above this a square stone with chamfered surround displays a weathered coat of arms. A short portion of brick walling with stone dressings projects to the south from the right corner, bordering Hunter Road.

The north front has three bays at left with a central arched staircase window flanked by sash windows at ground floor level. The ground floor is masked by a later garage addition. To the left of this, Pugin's later addition has random fenestration with a mezzanine staircase window, and an inserted 20th-century metal casement.

The east front, facing Hunter Road, has two gable ends with stone coping stones. The first floor is rendered, but the ground floor has bare brick walling laid in Garden Wall Bond, with the two floors divided by a stepped stone band. Windows are of one and two lights. A 20th-century bathroom window has been inserted at the centre of the first floor. At the right is a gateway to the rear yard set in brick walling with hinge stones to the flanks and an iron beam inserted where a Tudor arch was formerly. The moulded coping steps up at the centre around a square stone displaying the initial 'H' in Gothic script. A pedestrian door at the left of the front has a stone surround with pointed arch.

Interior

The entrance hall features a tiled floor of patterned encaustic tiles, inset with brass cutwork grilles for heating. The staircase displays a mixture of styles, with a Gothic-revival newel post applied to an earlier staircase having moulded tread ends and stick balusters.

The dining room has a Tudor-arched sideboard recess to its northern side, apparently of early 19th-century date. The fire surround is a Pugin design with a frieze of quatrefoils below the mantel shelf. The six-panel door has a Pugin lock with an elaborate brass plate and lobed doorknob.

The drawing room has a panelled ceiling with circular bosses and a stone fire surround with four-centred arch to the hearth and three coats of arms set in elaborate carved surrounds. The two six-panel doors retain classical surrounds but both have elaborate brass locks designed by Pugin. Door surrounds to the first floor are classical in the older part of the house, with compressed roll moulds to the sides and square flowers to the corners. Original fire surrounds have similar surrounds with bullseyes to the corners.

The kitchen in the 1840s extension has a chamfered hearth flanked by cupboards with arched tops and chamfered surrounds. The back staircase has chamfered balusters and newels. Doors in this part of the house are panelled with chamfered stiles and muntins. In Pugin's later extension there is one stone surround with chamfered corners.

Two attic rooms in the top of the early 19th-century house have large oval windows in the original gable end walls and two closets with original fitted chests of drawers. According to a letter from Pugin, the east wing added to the house contains a kitchen, water closet, nursery or child's room, and servants' room in the attic.

The single-storey 20th-century extension to the west of the presbytery and the garage block in the courtyard to the north are not considered to be of special architectural or historic interest.