Great House, High Street, Dedham

Great House, High Street, Dedham

Great House is a Grade II* listed building, a large three-storey house built in the second quarter of the 19th century as an idiosyncratic local interpretation of contemporary architectural fashion. It is constructed from salvaged white Suffolk bricks with slate roofing and sits under a shallow hipped roof with a wide chimney stack positioned centrally on the ridge.

The rectangular plan has two single-storey wings projecting at right angles to the rear: the right wing contains the scullery and larder, while the left wing houses the cloakroom.

The front elevation presents three bays with a central entrance set within a shallow, painted Ionic portico featuring a panelled soffit and reveals. The six-panelled front door has a four-pane rectangular over-light containing a small glazed panel engraved with 'GREAT HOUSE'. A lunette with a rubbed brick head sits above at first floor level. Casement windows occupy the first and third bays, fitted with mahogany glazing bars and green-painted jalousies. The casements diminish in size progressing upwards: six panes on the ground floor, four on the first floor, and four smaller panes on the second floor. They have narrow sills and straight splayed heads painted in a light colour, matching the eaves band. Two cast-iron boot-scrapers flank the front door, surviving from an earlier house, and a simple cast-iron guard rail is supported by six concrete bollards painted black.

The rear elevation mirrors the front except for a window in the central bay at first and second floor levels, the former flanked by oculi. Three French windows at ground floor level are contained within a modified Doric frame with engaged columns in the middle and pilasters at each end, crowned with a simplified entablature bearing guttae, creating the impression of a loggia. Immediately above, brick relieving arches flank a stone tablet inscribed: 'GREAT HOUSE WAS BURNT TO THE GROUND ON 1ST DECEMBER 1936 AND WAS REBUILT BY ARTHUR SPENCER JACKSON 1937-1938'. The coped side wings are each lit by a four-pane casement and accessed externally from doors on their narrow north sides. A terrace leads via a straight, wide flight of steps to the garden.

The interior is characterised by spare classical detailing and sophisticated spatial handling. The original plan form remains intact, along with all fixtures and fittings: door and window ironmongery, oval brass light fittings, and wooden curtain poles with circular brass ends.

The front door opens into a long tunnel-vaulted hall with shallow cross vaults at either end, leading to a transverse rear hall lit by the three French windows. Both sections are paved with York stone flags, as are the two flights of stairs and the first floor landing. The drawing room and dining room flank the main hall, laid with oak blocks. Both reception rooms feature fireplaces of white and green marble with Regency-style roundels in the corners; the grates were made by the Carron Company to Erith's design and bear the letters G VI R, as do all grates throughout the house. The kitchen and scullery retain quarry-tiled floors, fitted cupboards, water pump, service bells, and a large kitchen dresser designed by Erith.

The main staircase rises on a semi-circular plan from the west corner of the rear hall, with a continuous mahogany handrail and iron rod balusters painted white. Halfway up is a niche designed to hold a classical bust. The narrow back stair has iron balusters, bent outwards towards the bottom to provide more space, and a handrail of continuous copper pipe filled with cement grout.

The first floor comprises two bedrooms and a study, with a further three bedrooms on the second floor. Upstairs rooms are laid with narrow oak boards featuring secret nailing, except bathrooms which are laid with teak boards. Larger rooms have fireplaces similar to those on the ground floor but in white marble with slate; smaller top-floor bedrooms have simpler fireplaces with painted timber surrounds.

The second floor is reached via the back stair, which opens through a paired semi-circular arched opening at the top. The T-shaped plan formed on the ground floor by the main and rear halls is reflected in the main and transverse corridors of the second floor, which run through a series of arched doorways with semi-circular fanlights containing one vertical glazing bar and a small semi-circle of red glass at the foot—a motif repeated for fanlights throughout the second floor.

In the main bathrooms on the first and second floors, the bath is set into a shallow arched alcove panelled in pale grey marble. A third, smaller bathroom on the first floor has similar grey marble walls. All original bathroom fittings remain intact.

The finely crafted joinery throughout the house includes delicate cornicing and four- or six-panelled doors, unmoulded, some with panelled soffits and jambs.

A high buttressed red brick wall, surviving from an earlier phase, marks the boundary of the back garden.