Howard'S House

Howard's House is a house from the 18th century, with additions from the 19th and 20th centuries. The main block features colour washed rough cast over brick, while later sections are made of red brick with roughcast rendered front elevations. It has a clay tile roof and a double-pile plan with two storeys and attics, hipped at the front and double-gabled at the rear. There is a two-storey and attic block added in the 19th century at the rear, along with single-storey flat-roofed additions from the 20th century on the side.

The front facade is symmetrical, featuring a central doorway with a six-panel door, where the top two pairs are fielded. It has a rectangular fanlight and a moulded door surround with Roman Doric half pilasters, a pulvinated frieze, and a cornice. This doorway is flanked by three-light casements. The first floor has two similar casements on either side of a two-light casement. There are three hipped dormers with three-light casements, and all windows have leaded lights. A central ridge stack with four diagonal flues has been rebuilt in the 20th century to a slightly lower height. The front garden is enclosed by 18th-century wrought iron railings and a gate.

The rear elevation is irregular and features a variety of sash windows. The doorway at the rear has Roman Doric half-columns and an entablature, cut by the 19th-century block to the right. It includes smaller Doric pilasters and a round-headed arch containing a semi-circular fanlight and part-glazed double doors. Above the doorway is a round-headed sash window in a moulded surround with a keystone, and above this is a balustraded parapet running between two gables. A red brick gable end stack on the left gable also has three rebuilt diagonal flues.

Inside, the house retains some original 18th-century features, including panelling, a staircase, and chimney pieces. It was the residence of John Howard, a philanthropist and prison reformer, from around 1760 to 1790.