The Orchard

The Orchard is a house dating from 1899 to 1900, designed by C.F.A. Voysey as his own residence and altered in 1913. It is a building of group value, representing a significant example of Arts and Crafts architecture. The house is rectangular in plan, with a hipped roof over gabled cross wings at each end. It is constructed primarily of roughcast brick with stone and tile dressings, and has a green slate roof.

The main front has slate paving leading to a recessed porch with a round arch. The original entrance door features wrought iron strap hinges terminating in heart shapes, and a heart-shaped letter box. Mullioned windows have stone surrounds and leaded lights. To the left of the entrance, there are three lights on the ground floor with four above on the first floor. A continuous tile dripmould runs over the ground floor. Deep boxed eaves with moulded guttering are present at the centre of the house. A projecting, flat-topped rectangular bay, constructed of ashlar on a roughcast base, was added to the right cross wing in 1913; it features four lights with two-light returns on the ground floor, and four lights on the first floor. The left cross wing has four and three lights on the ground floor and four and one light on the first floor. There are triple ventilation slits in both attics, and moulded trim to the gables. The outer slope to the left side descends over one storey to an outshut. An inscribed slab bearing the house name in lettering designed by Voysey is located at the end of this slope. A large roughcast axial stack with a tile-coped triangulated cap and terracotta pots sits to the left of the centre, with similar stacks on the outer slopes of the cross wings.

The garden front incorporates an original garden door to the right end of the central range, with top lights, alongside cellar windows and small windows above. There are four lights on the ground floor, and two and three lights on the first floor. Boxed eaves mirror those on the front façade. Both ground and first floor windows in the cross wings each have four lights. Triple ventilation slits are set into the gable ends, featuring moulded trim. An outshut to the right has one and two light windows. A battered buttress is located at the left end.

The right return from the front features two circular windows with tile dripmoulds, and a flat-topped dormer window towards the front, incorporating a moulded head. The left return from the front showcases an original glazed kitchen door with moulded heads, and boxed eaves.

Internally, the slate-paved hall includes a tiled fireplace and a staircase enclosed by simple vertical slats. Further details include tiled and cast iron chimneypieces, low picture rails, wrought iron hinges and knobs on doors.