Norcott Court

Norcott Court is a large house built in 1888 for John Loxley. It is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond with timber-framing to the gables and moulded brick dressings, all under a red clay tile roof.

Plan and Layout

The house and barn form an approximately L-shaped plan, with the house forming the principal north-east range and the barn the smaller south-west range. There is a parallel range of detached outbuildings on the north-east side of the house (shown as attached on the Ordnance Survey map) and another outbuilding to the north-west which is the remains of the stable courtyard. The house has a double-pile plan in which the reception rooms occupy the front south-west range and the service rooms the rear north-east range.

Exterior

The house is designed in the Tudoresque style. It has two storeys with an attic and cellar, and steeply pitched roofs with plain bargeboards in the gables and five tall chimney stacks. The shafts of these chimneys are articulated with angled bricks and stepped caps in moulded brick. On the principal south-west front and the south-east garden elevation, the windows are timber casements of mostly three lights with a single transom in surrounds with a roll-moulding; those to the ground floor have segmental heads of gauged brickwork. The cast iron rainwater goods survive.

Principal South-West Front

The slightly irregular façade has projecting gabled bays in the central and outer bays. The central bay forms the entrance porch which has herringbone framing in the gable and box-framing to the first floor. The double-leaf front door (dating to the 1960s) has vertical planks and strap hinges, and is set in a three-pointed arch timber surround with carved spandrels which led originally into an open porch. The pointed arch windows either side are set in wide timber mullions which wrap around the returns and have decorative leaded lights. Above, the first floor is lit by a three-light window and the right return by two-light windows.

To the right of the entrance bay is a full-height, four-light window with ovolo-moulded mullions and two transoms, the upper lights with pointed arches. The window has painted leaded lights. The original awning that could be pulled out to shade the upper part of the window survives, although the fabric has rotted. To the left of the entrance bay are two three-light windows on each floor. To the right of this, the gabled end bay has rectangular framing in the gable head. The right ground-floor corner is splayed and lit by an arched window in a stone surround. This bay has French windows and a two-light window above. The gabled bay on the right hand side is larger and has herringbone framing in the gable head. It is lit on both floors by three-light windows, that to the upper floor is uPVC, and there is the remnant of another awning over the ground-floor window. The attic is lit by two flat-roofed, four-light dormers wholly within the roof space.

South-East Garden Elevation

The south-east garden elevation has, from the left, a large two-storey projecting bay with panel framing to the upper storey and a five-light window on each floor. There is a small first-floor window and then a ground-floor four-light window, the central two lights of which have been converted into French windows in the 20th century. The first floor is lit by a three-light window, above which is a gabled dormer, flush with the wall, which has herringbone framing.

Rear North-East Elevation

The rear north-east elevation is plainer as befits the service range but is similar in style to the façade with three gabled bays, two of which are tile-clad, and two gable dormers. One of the ground-floor windows is 20th century and may have replaced a door, and the windows in the top servant's flat are also 20th century replacements.

Interior

The interior has an eclectic style, predominantly Tudoresque in character but with some classical elements. It retains a high proportion of original fixtures, fittings and joinery including fireplaces, window shutters, ornate window ironmongery, floor surfaces, wide skirting boards, cornices, dado rails and wide six-panelled doors in moulded surrounds for the reception rooms and four-panelled doors for service rooms and bedrooms.

Entrance and Staircase Hall

The entrance porch has a mosaic floor and double-leaf, three-panelled inner doors, the upper two panels filled with decorative leaded glass, and the highest having a three-pointed arch top. Similar stained glass panels flank the doors, forming a screen. The entrance hall also has a mosaic floor with patterned edging and two stained glass panels to the high west windows.

This leads on the right to the medieval style staircase hall which rises through two storeys and has a canted ceiling with moulded beams. The room is panelled to first-floor height with square panelling which has incorporated dado rail, cornice, carved fan overlight over the door and fireplace. This has an overmantel with a square-within-a-square pattern and a mantelpiece supported by carved brackets. The stone moulded surround has an arcaded frieze, and burgundy tiled cheeks and hearth. The open-well stair, leading to the pillared gallery, has pyramidal finials and splat balusters which at first-floor level are joined by arches creating an arcade. The hall is lit by the double-height window which has four painted roundels with portraits of Herodotus, Homer, Virgil and Dante.

Reception Rooms

To the right of the staircase hall, the reception room in the south corner has raised plaster ribs on the ceiling forming large squares with foliate bosses at the intersections and a coved north end. It has a classical style red marble fireplace with bracketed timber surround, flanked by segmental arched alcoves.

Behind, in the east corner is the dining room which has moulded cornices and Adamesque corner fans (added in the late 1970s) and a ceiling rose. There is a segmental arched recess to the west end and a large timber chimneypiece with a carved frieze, red marble inset and fender, and patterned burgundy tiled cheeks.

To the left of the staircase hall, another reception room (originally the billiard room) has a parquet floor, laid in the 1950s, and twin segmental arched recesses to the east end. On the opposite wall is a delicate classical style fireplace with carved frieze and surround, flanked by a tall narrow semi-circular arched recess to the left and a wider recess with the door to the right.

To the left of this, occupying the west corner, is a smaller room dominated by a large elaborately carved timber chimneypiece in Jacobean style with a cast-iron grate and burgundy tiled cheeks with a raised pattern.

Upper Floors

The first-floor corridor is articulated by two arches with keystones. The three first-floor bedrooms that were inspected have cast-iron grates with delicate timber surrounds and tiled cheeks. The attic rooms also have original cast-iron fireplaces.

Service Range

The service range consists of the former kitchen which retains the recess for the range, ceiling laundry dryers, and a large built-in dresser. The larders have fitted shelves and benches with slate counters, and gauze at the window; and the butler's pantry has full-height built-in cupboards. At the end of the passage by the main back door is a built-in cupboard with cockshead hinges, ventilation holes and a lead top which is thought to be a salting tray. The service stair with panelled spandrel survives, as do the tiled floor surfaces, numerous fitted cupboards, and the electric service bell board, although this has lost its glass.

Subsidiary Features

Attached to the rear elevation is a three-pointed arched doorway with a moulded masonry surround and vertical plank door with elaborate strap hinges. A blue brick path leads to the single-storey outbuilding range which was not inspected but is said to retain an outdoor lavatory with original cistern and bowl by Tylor.