Wilderness House

House. Built in the early 18th century, with additions and alterations in the early 19th century and 1883. It’s constructed of local brick, primarily in a Flemish bond pattern, with limestone detailing. The steeply pitched roof is covered in slates, featuring end parapets with stone coping and a wood modillion eaves cornice. Original, symmetrical stone stacks rise from the ends of the building, incorporating string cornices and an entablature. The original plan consisted of a main range, with a rear service wing rebuilt in the early 19th century, forming an L-shaped layout. The house has two storeys and attics, with three original gable dormers. The symmetrical front elevation is framed by rusticated stone quoins and divided by a plain band. Raised stone surrounds and key blocks are present on five 19th-century hung sash windows. A similar arrangement of four windows appears on the ground floor, with a central doorway featuring a matching doorcase and an original semi-circular, plain, coved hood supported by scroll brackets. The door itself has six raised and fielded panels, topped by a rectangular fanlight. The left-hand gable end is characterised by three narrow, blocked window openings. The rear of the house was extended, and the service wing was rebuilt in the early 19th century, using brick in English bond with a slate roof. The rear extension facing St Andrews Place has four windows with round-headed arches. Flush-frame hung sashes are found in open boxing on the courtyard elevation. Another rear extension has a lean-to slate roof, with two hung sashes set within pointed arches. Further remodelling occurred in 1883, when a dining room was added by William Abraham Ellis Stafforth, as indicated by a date stone with initials. This addition is of brick and slate construction, with two storeys. Internally, the original layout included a narrower hall and stairbay, flanked by a parlour and dining room. Front and rear entrances are opposite one another. A fine early 18th-century staircase rises over four flights and two landings, featuring an open string with two symmetrical balusters to each tread, a swept and moulded rail, fluted newels, and scroll tread ends. Raised and fielded panelling adorns the staircase dado, although the upper flights have plain sunk panelling. One ground floor room is lined with raised and fielded panelling in two heights and another room on the first floor is also panelled and features a bolection moulded fireplace surround. The early 19th-century extension incorporates similar balusters and rails. The roof is constructed with staggered butt purlins.