Fitzroy House

Former townhouse, probably built in the first half of the C18, with the ground floor in use as office accommodation by the end of the C19. In 1939 it was converted to offices for Swaffham Rural District Council, and then to private offices in 1974.

MATERIALS: of brown brick in header bond with a brick stack and a roof of black-glazed pantiles.

EXTERIOR: the building is of three storeys in five bays with a plat band to the first floor and sill bands to the first and second-floor windows. To the ground floor there is a central six-panelled and fielded door, the upper two panels glazed, enclosed by a timber doorcase with a pulvinated frieze and a triangular pediment on consoles. To the left-hand side of the doorway, there are two six-over-one horned sashes and to its right two one-over-one unhorned sashes. The first and second floors both have six six-over-six horned sashes, except for the central second-floor window, which is a two-over-two horned sash and the unhorned sash at the right-hand end on the same floor. All the windows have gauged skewback arches. At the south end, there is an internal gable-end stack. Extending to the rear is a two- and three-storey cross wing with nine arched recesses to the ground floor, either with doorways or Diocletian windows, with a platband to the first floor and a dentilled eaves cornice above. The first- and second-floor windows were replaced in the late C20. The three-storey section to the east has a hipped roof while the remainder is gabled.

INTERIOR: it retains a C18 open-string staircase with three turned balusters to each tread, fluted newel posts, and ramped moulded handrail. Dado panelling matches. Glazed lantern at roof level.