Goddards

This is a substantial house, likely built between 1725 and 1750, with a northeast wing added in 1899 and a single-story extension to the south in 1960, concealed behind a screen wall. The original part is constructed of red brick with blue headers and lighter red dressings. Parts of the service wing on the north side are timber-framed and roughcast, with plum-red brick facing at the rear. The roof is covered with old red tiles, half-hipped over the original square block, with a red-tiled mansard roof to the 1899 extension.

The main house has a double-pile plan, featuring a central narrow entrance hall and a wider stair hall to the rear. It is two stories and an attic, with a symmetrical five-window front. The facade is distinguished by a moulded brick floor band, segmental rubbed brick arches, and boxed eaves. The sash windows are set in heavily moulded flush frames and lack glazing bars. Original rainwater pipes are of box section. The central entrance has a six-panel raised and fielded door with glazed upper panels, set within a moulded doorcase featuring a square open porch with slender Tuscan columns on high pedestals, a full entablature, and a triangular pediment.

The 1899 extension is two stories high and has matching windows, including a dormer. A central rear doorway features a six-panel flush beaded door and a fine early 18th-century moulded hood with richly carved console brackets. The house has gable chimneys and retains good panelled interiors, including moulded cornices and a dado rail on the ground floor.

Historically, the site is linked to William Goddard, mentioned in 1294. In the early 19th century, it was used as a Young Gentlewomen's Academy, run by Elizabeth and Jane Norris, and frequently visited by Charles Lamb, who was described by his sister, Mary Lamb, in Mrs. Leicester's School. One contemporary noted that a later owner, Charles Nelson Treen, replaced the original small glazed windows with plate glass. It is an historically significant early 18th-century brick house with literary connections and contributes to the varied character of the surrounding Conservation Area.