The Malting House

The Malting House is a late 18th-century building, converted in 1902-09 for the Rev H F Stewart, the Dean of Trinity College Chapel, with later 20th-century alterations. It was originally a malting house and attached kiln, and now forms a group with other listed buildings in Malting Lane. The building is constructed of grey gault brick. The front facing Newnham Road incorporates a bow window supported by pillars, with a porch beneath and a round window above. To the rear, on the left, is a conical tiled oasthouse. The front facing Malting Lane has six windows: casements on the ground floor, and sash windows with glazing bars above, along with three attic dormers. A tiled mansard roof and a red brick chimney are also present. An older stone range at the rear, on Malting Lane, now serves as the Friends’ Meeting House and dates to the early 19th century, constructed of brick with various openings and a slate roof.

The interior features an elegant stick baluster staircase with bowed fronts to the upper landings, rising through four floors and lit by a double roof lantern. The staircase is accessed from a small entrance lobby with Delft tile skirting and a green tile fireplace. A former library or kiln includes a brick corner fireplace, although only a single fitted bookcase remains, now converted into cupboards and shelves, a pilastered door surround, and exposed roof timbers. The drawing room contains a fine chimney piece with green tiles, original skirting, coving, and picture rail. The dining room has a tiled fireplace with an arched overmantel and two exposed beams. Several bedrooms have elegant brick fireplaces and fitted cupboards. The conversion was undertaken by Dunbar Smith & Cecil Brewer, and is an early example of an industrial building conversion by a significant architectural practice of the Edwardian period. The house retains several interesting and unusual interior features.