Voewood

Country house built 1903-4, designed by E.S. Prior and exemplifying the Arts and Crafts movement. The building is constructed of mass concrete faced with uncoursed Quaternary flint, with Big Carr carstone quoins and decorative carstone and on-edge tile work, beneath a pantile roof.

The house follows a distinctive butterfly plan, with a five-bay central range flanked by angled wings to the south and east. It rises two storeys with a basement and attics.

The principal façade faces south-east and comprises a central three-bay block of two storeys and attic with a hipped roof. A terrace to the front features splayed walls and a semi-circular stone flight of steps with pebble flint risers descending to the garden. The central three bays have a forward loggia with octagonal carstone piers supporting a shaped parapet decorated with lozenges of carstone and tiles set lozengewise, and a central lunette. This loggia was later encased by a flat-roofed bow-fronted glazed sunlounge added in 1965 with a carstone base. The first floor displays three two-light leaded casements; above runs a parapet of horizontal bands of decorative tiles and carstone flanking a band of decorative flint lozenges, with a sundial at the centre beneath a raised semi-circular head. Recessed attics behind feature two raking roof dormers, each with three-light leaded casements. Parapeted gables project to the front. Bays one and five rise three storeys, decorated with random carstone and zig-zag tile work, with leaded casements in three flights to the first and second floors. Two-bay angled wings to left and right feature cloisters now glazed, opening onto the terrace with carstone piers and decorative parapets; the lean-to roof above each cloister has one recessed three-light window. The cloister returns to the gables are glazed with decorative parapets above. The gable ends of the wings are canted, and large external chimney stacks at the far sides feature carstone lozenges and quoins, each with two tall tile shafts—one a lozenge pattern, the other spiral—and an oeil-de-boeuf (round window) to each attic.

The entrance front is the west façade of the south wing, a tall five-bay elevation of two storeys, basement and attic, enclosed by angled stacks at the gable returns. A two-storey projecting canted porch occupies the central bay, flanked by two tall spiral tile chimney shafts. The façade is of uncoursed flint with carstone quoins and lozenge decoration; horizontal carstone bands sit above and below ground floor windows, and horizontal bands of herringbone tiles run below first floor windows and to the parapet. Carstone dressings frame two-light casements with glazing bars on the ground floor; tile dressings frame two-light casements, mostly leaded, to the first floor.

The porch itself features a central double-leaved ledged and battened door with a semi-circular fanlight of leaded intersecting tracery beneath an inner carstone arch, which is surmounted by an outer tile arch with carstone keystone. This is supported by two octagonal carstone piers, all beneath a decorated parapet with gables. Small leaded windows flank the door on either side. A broad band of decorative geometric carstone and tiles runs below the first floor windows, with a decorated shaped parapet above incorporating a large lead lozenge. To the left and right of the porch are carstone arches to the basement; those flanking bays one and five have two-light leaded casements, whilst those to bays two and four give access to doors. Two roof lights are present. Wall sweeps to left and right, of uncoursed flint with a tile string course, terminate in square carstone piers.

The rear (north-west) façade displays two storeys, attic and basement, with a central external chimney stack flanked by gabled bays. To either side at an angle are the gable ends of the south and east wings. The carstone and tile decorative courses continue from the west front. The central stack features carstone quoins and lozenges tapering to a semi-circular head, decorated with tiles and carstone, and crowned with three tall tile shafts—the central one spiral. A semi-circular carstone arch to the basement sits below the stack. Full-height semi-circular-headed lights either side of the stack each have an oculus with glazing bars rising to the attic above. Ground floor windows of the gable ends have been renewed; two-light leaded casements serve the first floor, with small two-light casements to the attic. Semi-circular carstone arches to the basements feature doors in the gable ends and two-light leaded casements either side of the central stack. A single-storey one-bay service room with hipped roof adjoins the wall sweep from the west front to the right. A service range extending left from the gable of the east wing terminates in a hexagonal dairy with a hexagonal pantile roof (its lantern lost). A Diocletian window faces north-west; two doors with segmental carstone heads give access to the main yard and kitchen yard respectively. The interior contains three apsed alcoves lined with ceramic tile slabs.

The interior was not inspected at the time of the resurvey.