Dickinson House

Dickinson House comprises a group of seven almshouses built in 1845 by W.H. Cooper for the Booksellers’ Provident Institution. The land was provided by J. Dickinson, owner of the nearby Home Park paper mills. The building is constructed of red and plum brick, with stone dressings, some stuccoed and whitewashed areas. It has slate roofs, and is designed in a Tudor Revival style.

The building is arranged as a 1:3:1:3:1 arrangement of bays, with the central and end bays projecting, the centre bay projecting further and incorporating a shallow gable to the front. A central porch has a four-centred arched entrance, chamfered with a hood mould, supported by octagonal brick piers with moulded caps and bases. A coped parapet rises to the centre, featuring a blank crest and moulded finials. The returns of the porch have tall, square-headed lights. Flanking the porch are taller, square-headed sashes with four-centred heads to each upper pane, set beneath hood moulds. The first floor incorporates a central triple sash with chamfered stone mullions, a stone band at sill level, and a hood mould incorporating ornamental carving. Above this is a carved ribbon inscribed ‘BOOKSELLERS PROVIDENT RETREAT’. The parapet is coped, with an apex finial. Two-stage, diagonal buttresses feature finials. The returns of the centre bay are rendered.

Each of the three-bay flanking blocks has steps leading up to a smaller entrance porch, with two doors and top lights, four-centred arches, and hood moulds. Stone brick kneelers support the stone coped parapets. The outer bays have paired eight-pane sashes in stone surrounds, with blind openings to the centre on the first floor.

A stone string course runs at first floor sill level, and dentilled brick eaves are present. The outer bays have similar double sashes with hood moulds. Diagonal buttresses with finials are also visible. Coped parapets top the building. Cross-axial stacks, incorporating stone quoins and cornices, are positioned between each section.

The rear elevation features 16-pane sashes with slightly cambered, chamfered, gauged brick heads. The rear features a two-storey gabled projection. The interior has not been inspected.