Gardener's Cottage, Battenhall Mount

A gardener's cottage of c. 1895 designed by John Henry Williams for Hon. Alfred Percy Allsopp.

MATERIALS: Gault brick, laid in English bond to the ground floor, with stone dressings, and timber framing to the first floor with rendered infill and a roof of red fish-scale tiles.

PLAN: two storeys with an enclosed rear yard to the south-west side of the building.

EXTERIOR: the north-eastern, road front has two principal, gabled bays. The ground floor windows each have three, mullioned, casement lights with a transom. The first floor is slightly jettied, and has small-framed walling with a carved bresumer and a middle rail that forms the sill to the two three-light casements. The gables have carved bargeboards and angled braces.

The south-east flank faces the side drive and forms the entrance front. It has an entrance door at right with a sunken panel carved with a coat of arms and the date ‘1896’. At first-floor level the small framing has two ogee braces at right and to left, above the entrance, is a two light casement under a gable with angled braces and carved bargeboards.

The north-west flank has two, single-light windows to the ground floor and blank, small-framed walling to the first floor with ogee braces to either end.

The south-west rear, facing the small back yard, has random fenestration to the ground floor and two, three-light casements beneath gables to the first floor, as on the road front. At the centre of each of the two roof ridges is a massive, chimney stack of gault brick with a richly-moulded, stepped head incorporating miniature gargoyle heads. Chimney stacks are elaborately moulded and of brick and terracotta, with gargoyles to the upper corners.

INTERIOR: the ground floor has panelled oak doors and a staircase with carved newel posts and balusters. Leaded casement windows have their original furniture.