Nos 1 And 2 And Attached Wall

Nos. 1 and 2 Lansdowne Crescent and Attached Wall, Worcester

Semi-detached houses dating from approximately 1835-40, with later additions and alterations. The buildings are constructed of brick faced with painted stucco, with hipped slate roofs. Three ridge stacks in stucco with oversailing detail and pots are positioned at the party wall, to the right, and to the rear wing.

The principal elevation was originally symmetrical but a narrow bay has been added to the right-end with infill to the rear (shown on the 1886 Ordnance Survey map). The buildings are two storeys with basement and cellar. The stucco is lined to represent ashlar, with detailing comprising a simple plinth and pilaster strips to the ends and between windows.

The left-hand house has a ground-floor French window with 8-pane leaves and 4-pane overlight, and an 8/8 sash window. The first floor contains four windows (arranged 2:2:0) which are 8/8 sashes in plain reveals with sills. All ground and first-floor windows have external ornamented blind-boxes and narrow architraves.

The right-hand house features a canted bay to the left with moulded frieze and dentilled cornice. The bay contains a French window with 2-pane overlight and unequal 2/1 sashes to the returns. A small semi-circular window opening to the cellar is set to the right-return of the bay. To the right of the bay is a 1/1 sash window with horns, and to the far right a French window with 2-light overlight and roll-edged stone sill. Cast-iron steps and balustrades access the stucco and timber bay window, with similar steps to the French window. A small stone-flagged terrace is accessed from the right via three decorative pierced steps with an ornamental balustrade and moulded wooden handrail.

The left return is painted stucco with two small 20th-century windows. The rear of No. 2 is painted brick with 6/6 sashes and a replacement 6-panel door with fanlight and pedimented doorcase. A service range is also painted brick with 8/8 sashes and a 20th-century door.

The right-return is painted stucco and brick, with stucco piers capped in moulded stone flanking one stone and eight slate steps to a 5-panel door. The upper pair of panels are raised and fielded with bolection moulding; the bottom pair are flush double-beaded with decoration. A segmental pattern fanlight and moulded architrave surround the doorway. The return also contains 1/1, 6/6, and 8/8 sashes.

A two-storey brick and slate service-range to the rear has two unequal 2-barred sashes to the first floor and a pair of vertically-boarded doors under a segmental arch to the ground floor. This range is linked to the main house by a brick boundary wall approximately 6 metres long by 2.5 metres high, curving in plan with curvilinear brick coping and pierced by a pedestrian vertically-boarded door under a segmental arch.

The interior of No. 1 contains original features including panelled doors, fluted architraves with paterae, skirtings, dado and picture rails, plaster cornices and ceiling centres, and a dogleg staircase with square balusters.

Because of their elevated position, vehicular access to these houses could only be obtained from the east via Lansdowne Crescent Lane, introducing a degree of formality to what would normally be the rear elevations. The 1886 Ordnance Survey map shows Nos. 10 and 14 as exceptions with carriage drives from the west off Lansdowne Crescent. Nos. 1-15 (consecutive) and 17 and 18 Lansdowne Crescent form a good group of listed buildings, comparing well with other developments of this period in Worcester such as Britannia Square, Lark Hill, and Rainbow Hill Terrace.