12, AMPTON ROAD B15

12 Ampton Road is a Grade II* listed house located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, built in 1855 by the architect John Henry Chamberlain for his own use. It is notable for being the first house in Birmingham to showcase the principles of Gothic polychromy as advocated by John Ruskin. The building features two storeys and attics, constructed of fine red brick with polychrome brick detailing, and is designed in a crosswing L-plan with Gothic elements.

The front facade has three bays, with the left bay being advanced and gabled. The steep gable end roofs are covered with patterned slates and decorative ridge tiles. A band of coloured tiles runs along the first floor, with a similar band below the dogtooth corbelled eaves. On the left side, there is a two-storey Gothic canted bay window adorned with decorative tilework. The entrance is next to this bay, featuring an original door with three encircled trefoils in the tympanum above, all set beneath a bold Gothic arch supported by corbel stops. Flanking the entrance are single cusped lancet windows, while to the right is a triple group of lancets. The first floor includes the upper portion of the bay window, a pair of segment-headed narrow windows, and a triple group of windows to the right. All windows are sashes, with some displaying decorative leadwork in their heads.

The west return elevation mirrors the front but features a tripartite arrangement of lancets instead of a canted bay window. The central lancet is broader and larger, subdivided by a shaft, and has a corbelled balcony on the first floor. The interior remains unaltered, showcasing a heavy staircase with simple Gothic details, original doors and door furniture, and shafted fireplaces.