Bonks Hill House

Bonks Hill House is a 17th-century house which was largely rebuilt and extended around 1827 for Thomas Rivers, a renowned rose grower of Rivers Nursery, which was established in 1725. The Rivers family originally used Bonks Hill as their home.

The house is a two-story, L-shaped stucco villa. The front, facing southeast, has giant pilasters. A hipped slate roof has plastered soffit panels, and a large gable stack is located at its northern end. A two-story timber-framed and weatherboarded section of the earlier house remains in this northern section. A long, one-and-a-half-story timber-framed, weatherboarded range encloses the north side of the front courtyard. It has a steep pantiled roof with clasped purlins. This range contains a central red brick chimney, potentially indicating earlier domestic use, and a Yorkshire casement window under the eaves. The range is said to have been shortened at its southeast end when the road cutting was made in the late 19th century.

The three-window stucco front is lined as ashlar over a projecting plinth. It has large recessed sash windows with 6/6 panes and slender glazing bars. Four giant pilasters frame the three bays, with the central bay narrower. The central doorway is round-headed and has a simple stucco architrave with a flattened torus moulding, broken only by square panelled impost blocks. The door is a bolection moulded panelled door with a large bottom panel, a horizontal mid panel, and two vertical panels above. A lobed radial fanlight with a tapered lantern in the center has three front faces. The southwest front is symmetrical, with a projecting plinth and stucco lined as ashlar. Central and corner pilasters are present, with two broad full-height projections in panels between, pierced by windows. Recessed 6/6 paned sashes and French doors to the ground floor are also present. A projecting, single-story conservatory from the 19th century is located next to the south corner, featuring elongated cast iron corner columns carrying an iron entablature with an interlaced vine scroll frieze and a coved cornice, and glazed timber screens. The house has a striking appearance in a picturesque setting and significant historical connections to horticulture.