Huskards

Huskards is a house, now divided into five apartments, originally built in the early 18th century, with significant extensions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The house is constructed of red brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with a roof of handmade red clay tiles. Initially, it comprised a double-range main block facing southwest, with two chimney stacks on each side wall, and wings set back on either side that extended to the rear; the left wing was longer than the right. The right wing remains largely as it was originally built, with minor alterations in the late 19th century.

To the left of the main block, the area in front of the left wing was filled in 1878, creating a curvilinear gable facing forward, and a further wing was added to the left of it in 1902, also with a curvilinear gable and a gable stack at the front. This wing extends further back than the original left wing, and an early 20th-century single-storey lean-to was added in the rear angle between them.

A single-storey extension, with a flat roof and a railed gallery above, was added to the front of the main block in the early 20th century, spanning almost the full width. This extension features six sash windows with glazing bars in the upper lights and single lower lights, and a central panelled double door with side-lights and overlights. The first floor has five sash windows of 9+9 lights, each with a segmental flat arch of gauged brick; some of these windows feature ovolo-moulded wide glazing bars and crown glass. Three casement windows are set within hipped dormers in the attic. A dentilled brick cornice sits below a plain parapet. Rainwater heads embossed with “1735 H C A” are on the right return and the right return of the right wing. Datestones marking 1878 and 1902 are on the first wing and second wing respectively, to the left. The side and rear windows are a mix of early 18th-century sashes, some with crown glass, and 19th and 20th-century sashes and replicas. Each apartment has a 20th-century panelled door and doorcase in a classical style, with two entrances to the left and two to the rear.

The interior retains many original features, including a half-glazed inner door at the rear, a three-flight staircase with a moulded handrail, turned balusters, closed string, and ovolo-moulded panelled dado, and some ovolo-moulded six-panel doors. Ovolo-moulded ribs are present on some ceilings, potentially original. The house’s history includes alterations while it was a private dwelling, use as a home for the elderly, and finally its present configuration. Original features should be identified and retained in any future alterations.