Three Gables

Three Gables

A two-storey house built in local red brick of slightly varying hues, laid in Flemish bond, under a roof covered in red clay plain tiles. Canary whitewood is used throughout, painted white on the outside and originally left exposed inside, although the woodwork in the kitchen, utility, bathrooms and four of the bedrooms has been painted.

The house has an asymmetrical plan with a south-facing section containing the reception rooms and a rear north range, formerly housing the services and now consisting of a kitchen and utility. The south section contains a long drawing room on the east side, and on the west side a south-facing dining room and a study in the north-west corner. The principal staircase is positioned to the north of the dining room. The first floor has five bedrooms leading off from the staircase in the south section, and two bathrooms and another bedroom in the north range.

The principal south elevation features three prominent gables with a slightly higher one in the centre. The gable on the right has a timber kneeler whilst that on the left slopes down to ground-floor level. The central gabled bay is recessed at ground-floor level to create a loggia supported by two timber columns with four fillets, resting on late 20th-century brick bases. It is lit by two single-light casement windows with leaded lights, and shallow sills and lintels consisting of headers. The central bay is flanked by canted bays lit by three-light windows on the front, and tall, narrow windows on both sides. The outer edge of the left bay has a loggia which supports the elongated slope of the gable. On the outer edge of the last bay, the first-floor overhang over the chamfered ground-floor corner (caused by the canted bay) is supported by a single column. The ground-floor has a wide string course at lintel level which also acts as the cornice for the loggia.

The fenestration is regular on all elevations, although the majority of the original timber casements have been replaced with metal replicas.

The loggia continues round onto the west elevation with four columns supporting the first floor. The roof sweeps down to ground-floor level and is lit by a long flat-roofed dormer with three-light windows at either end. The front door, on the left end of the loggia, has two vertical panels with a horizontal panel above. It has an elaborate brass lock plate with pierced Art Nouveau style decoration and an upright handle. The narrow, panelled section to the right incorporates the brass letterbox and doorbell. To the right of the loggia is a small square single-light window. The return wall slightly projects at ground-floor level under a hipped roof. It has battered sides formed by shallow buttresses, and is lit by a three-light window. To the left of this is a recessed gabled bay that has a tall, six-light canted oriel with a moulded sill, lighting the staircase. At right angles to this, the recessed service range continues under a mansard roof which has a flat-roofed three-light dormer. The ground floor is lit by a small square window, followed by a larger single-light square window, and then a three-light window. The left end of this elevation is dominated by a wide gabled bay, battered on the left side, and lit in the gable head by a small square window. The ground floor has two doors: that on the left is a simple vertical plank door (having replaced the double-doors in the original wide opening), and that on the right is the same as the front door, with much simpler door furniture. It is slightly recessed under a segmental arched opening.

The east elevation, from the left, has a chamfered corner from the canted bay window on the south elevation, followed by a three-light window (inserted at a later date to provide more light in the drawing room) which is flanked by narrow, single-light windows. Above, the long dormer window is the same as that on the west elevation. The return wall of this section has a three-light window on the ground floor which lights the partly enclosed window seat in the drawing room, and a square, single-light window above. Following this, the recessed service range has a three-bay loggia with a pentice roof, under which is a single-light window and double-leaf French doors, added in the late 20th century. The first floor above the loggia has, on the left, a wide chimney stack which rises through the apex of a gable and has a decorated brick cornice and tapered pots, as do all the numerous chimneys. Underneath the chimney, the first floor is lit by a square, single-light window, followed by a large, flat-roofed dormer with three windows. The end of the elevation has a wide gabled bay, like that on the west elevation, which has a three-light window at ground-floor level and a square, single-light window above. The narrow north elevation has four ground-floor windows and a flat-roofed dormer.

The interior is characterised by Arts and Crafts principles, with the use of exposed timber and fixtures and fittings of consistently high quality. The doors have two vertical panels with a horizontal panel above; those belonging to the reception rooms have large, decorative brass lock plates, whilst those to other rooms have plainer door furniture. The joinery, including the picture rails, survives almost intact, as does some of the window ironmongery which has catches with a heart-shaped motif.

The staircase and reception rooms are given the most elaborate treatment. The drawing room has full-height square and rectangular panelling without mouldings. On the west wall is an inglenook, lit by a small window on the left, which has benches on either side of the fireplace with shaped, concave ends. The fireplace has a plain mantelpiece and panelled overmantel, but the reddish brown tiles and the panelling on the sides are not original. On the north wall is a window seat, partly enclosed within a panelled alcove which is pierced along the top with a heart-shaped motif. In the dining room there is a prominent fireplace on the north wall which has buff-coloured tiles set in a lugged surround. The mantelpiece is supported by consoles, and the square panelled overmantel reaches to the ceiling. The west wall of the small study is panelled with fitted cupboards and a corner area, lit by small windows either side, which was probably designed for a desk.

One of the dominant internal features is the quarter-turn, closed well, timber staircase. The first four steps leading up to the quarter-pace landing have a square newel post with a flat cap followed by wide moulded balusters rising from the corner of each tread. After the turn, the straight flight gives the effect of being almost boxed in as the wide moulded balusters rise from the floor through the spandrel up to the ceiling. Along the top is a narrow panel pierced with the same heart-shaped motif used in the alcove seat in the drawing room. The balustrade continues around the landing but has plain wide balusters and paired newel posts. The top of the staircase is the axis for a short, wide corridor running east-west and a long, narrow corridor running north-south. The latter corridor is articulated by a series of arched openings and has a fitted bench underneath a window. Some of the bedrooms retain their original fitted cupboards but none of the fireplaces remain.