Roxford House

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 21 August 2023 to amend the name of the architect and to reformat the text to current standards

TL 31 SW 6/73

HERTINGFORDBURY Hertingfordbury ST. MARY'S LANE (West side) Roxford House

(Formerly listed as Roxford)

24.11.66

GV II

House. Early C18 for J Brassey. Extended mid C19 and 1960 by E Maxwell Fry. Brown brick with red brick dressings, part whitewashed. Tiled roofs. Originally three bays, double depth. Two storeys and attic. Original front to South East faces River Lea and moated site of earlier manor house, now garden.

Central entrance with glazed door, flanking 16 pane sashes in shallow reveals with segmental heads. Plat band to first floor with iron frame small pane mullion and transom casements. Timber eaves cornice. Two flat headed three light small pane dormers over outer bays. Gambrel roof. Four large internal end stacks. To left one storey C19 dairy with glazed door to garden with segmental head. Dentilled eaves to hipped slate roof. Left return entrance and casements. To rear two bays, ground floor three light iron frame casements with segmental heads, that to left extending over a door, first floor iron frame casements, a two light flat headed dormer, leaded lights.

Attached to right end of C18 house and projecting slightly further into garden is mid C19 addition. Right return is now principal entrance elevation. Three bays, that to left larger and slightly projecting under a gable. Recessed sashes with gauged brick flat arched heads, continuous plat band, blind opening in attic, wavy bargeboards. To right panelled door in brick porch with gauged brick flat arch and simple cornice, ground floor 12 pane and first floor 16 pane sashes, hip to right. Projecting into garden from C19 block is 1960 weatherboarded and glazed studio.

Interior: stop chamfered bearers and fireplace lintel, early C19 staircase. Joseph Haydn stayed at Roxford in 1791-2 as a guest of N Brassey.

(VCH 1912, East Herts Archaeological Society Transactions, 1916, vol.6, pt.2, p.188: Hertfordshire Countryside, vol.25, 143, March 1971, p.38: Pevsner 1977).

Listing NGR: TL3033610464