Goldhanger House

House. Built circa 1851 for the Reverend C. Leigh, designed by Ewan Christian. The house is constructed of red brick with blue brick diapering, featuring Yorkshire stone dressings to the plinths, and Caen stone for window dressings and cills. Window glass includes diamond quarry lead lights with British plate glass in the dining and drawing rooms, and thick crown glass elsewhere. Door and window cills are of English oak, with Baltic fir, deals, and battens for the joinery. The roofs are red plain tiles with stepped eaves cornices, stone coping, and finials to all gables. There are six red brick chimney stacks with various octagonal, diagonally attached, and square shafts, all with decorative mouldings and cappings; one is located to the far right of the front exterior, and one to the left of the single-storey former service wing.

The house has an asymmetric plan, two storeys with attics and a cellar. The main range features left and off-centre right forward gables, and a mainly 1:3:1 window range of two or three-light moulded mullions and transoms. A window in the main staircase has three long lights separated by a transom. Basement windows are two-light. The left gable attic has a single light. A dressed vertical ventilator strip tops the right gable apex, with a window below consisting of two lights with Gothic heads under a square head. The right gable has a Portland stone porch with a moulded and sunk chamfered segmental pointed arch, with internal steps leading to double vertically boarded doors with strap hinges and a segmental pointed head. Leaded side lights are present, with lower panelling. A stone lintel sits above a vertically boarded door in the left former service wing, now converted to a garage, also featuring a rear garage door.

Internal features include a two-arch arcade to the left of the main hall, leading to a fine dog leg, late Tudor style staircase with moulded pierced flat balusters, a moulded handrail, stop-chamfered newels, and moulded, pointed finials and pendants. Shutters are fitted to windows throughout, and all doors are panelled with panelled reveals. Moulded wainscots are also present. A dog leg servants staircase features a moulded handrail, stick balusters, pendants, and finials to the newels. Numerous fire surrounds remain, some of marble, three to bedrooms with cast iron surrounds – one with original tiles. Barrel vault ceilings exist in two bedrooms, while the main rooms have moulded cornices, two of which incorporate moulded friezes. The old kitchen has a stone floor. The cellars contain spaces for wine, meat, ale, laundry, and dairy. The quality of detail and materials was exceptionally high, as documented in contemporary plans and specifications. The house remains largely intact, with the exception of a collapsed conservatory replaced with a new one, a former butler's pantry now a kitchen, and an old service wing converted into a garage. The original construction cost was £1,900, plus £100 for extras.