Park House

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 4 May 2023 to update the name and address and to reformat the text to current standards

TL 05 SW 9/120

CLAPHAM Clapham Park Park House

(Formerly listed as Clapham Park House, GREEN LANE)

II Large house.1872 by John Usher of Bedford, for James Howard M.P. for Bedford, iron-master and co-founder of the Britannia Works. Dark red brick Gothic mansion with stone dressings and banded plain and fishscale tile roof.

Two storeys and attics. Narrow sash windows generally in groups of two or three. Most retain their wooden blind canopies. North entrance elevation has central slightly projecting gabled section with porte-cochere which has a vaulted ceiling, arched openings and corner buttresses, cornice and parapet with frieze of recessed diamond pattern. Recessed doorway has side panels of blue and white glazed tiles by M.J. Cooper of Maidenhead. The central gable is flanked by two gabled dormers. Stone bands at window head level. West front has projecting gabled wings to left and right. Left hand one has two storey rectangular bay. Right hand wing has two storey canted bay with small attic hipped roof bay built into the top. Central gabled dormer. South garden front has full height large central canted bay with polygonal roof and three gabled dormers. To the left of the bay is an octagonal turret supported on first floor stone canopy on brick columns. This rests on balcony on projecting ground floor bay. Interesting and asymmetrical east elevation.Central circular staircase turret with three stepped leaded casements. To the left of this is a projecting gable with a small bell turret. To the east extends a range of one storey ancillary service buildings including an octagonal game larder.

The interior remains virtually intact. There is a oak staircase with wrought iron flower motifs between the balusters. The hall is lit by a lantern supported on an arcade of Bath stone with red Mansfield stone columns (now painted white). The arcade is blind along one wall. Some of the ground floor rooms retain oak floors inlaid in geometric patterns. Most of the original carved oak doors remain, and some moulded skirting boards. Many of the windows have interior surrounds of slender columns supporting Tudor roses.

Listing NGR: TL0466652810