Carrow House

This large mid-19th-century villa was extensively rebuilt in 1861, possibly by architect Edward Boardman, with a substantial extension added in 1895 and adjoining garden features created in 1908. The house is constructed of gault brick laid in Flemish bond with stone dressings and a slate roof. The modern office block, New Carrow House, built to the north and connected to the historic house by a glazed link in 1959, is excluded from the listing.

Setting and Plan

Carrow House occupies a steeply sloping site that falls to the north-east. The building has a long, approximately rectangular plan with the original villa at the north end and the 1895 extension to the south. Single-storey 20th-century additions stand on the west side.

Exterior

The house is in the Italianate style with two storeys plus attic and basement. A shallow hipped roof is finished with a low parapet and moulded stone cornice supported by stone brackets. Tall panelled chimney stacks with dentilled oversailing cornices rise from the north gable end and the ridge of the south range.

On the west front, the original villa to the left has a symmetrical four-bay façade. The two central bays project forward beneath a pediment supported by stone brackets and pierced by an oculus. These bays are framed by paired pilasters which are echoed at the end bays. The hipped roof above has a flat top with decorative ironwork balustrading and two dormers with moulded wooden segmental pediments. The regular fenestration consists of two-over-two pane horned sash windows set within raised moulded stone surrounds. A basement area runs along the length of this section behind a low stone wall. It was originally covered by a glazed roof, now replaced with plastic, though the ornate cast-iron brackets survive.

To the right, the 1895 south extension is slightly set back but executed in exactly the same style. It has four bays with two segmental dormers and an off-centre double-leaf studded door set within a prominent Doric surround flanked by pilasters. On each side are 20th-century single-storey additions in matching style, the bracketed cornice of the Doric surround carried across each cornice. The addition on the left is lit by a two-over-two pane sash window, while the larger projection on the right has a canted bay window lit on three sides by tall multi-pane sashes. The south gable end features a double-height canted bay window framed by paired pilasters, with a stone band between each floor bearing the date stone 1895. The ground floor is lit by a multi-pane sash window and the first floor by a six-light casement window.

Due to the steeply sloping ground, the long rear east elevation shows the basement becoming the ground floor with two floors above. The 1895 range to the left has five bays divided by pilasters and a balustraded walkway at first-floor level. The fenestration is mostly two-over-two pane sashes in stone surrounds, except for the ground floor which is lit by wide multi-pane sashes under gauged brick arches. The partly-glazed door in the central bay is recessed under the walkway within an elaborate wooden doorcase with a canopy supported by foliate-carved brackets and a decorative carved frieze. This is flanked by canted bay windows, the right one being double-height. The earlier 1860-61 range to the right has a symmetrical three-bay composition, the central bay dominated by a full-height canted bay with each angle defined by a pilaster. The flanking bays are lit by similar fenestration to that already described, except most windows also have projecting moulded stone sills with a horizontal decorative iron bar supported by stone consoles.

Interior

The interior contains well-preserved joinery and woodcarving of very high standard in both parts of the house, most notably in the large west room in the original north range and the three reception rooms in the 1895 south range. The unpainted joinery is of a rich, warm hue and is in 17th-century style incorporating the classical motifs and strapwork typical of the Jacobean period. Semicircular openings are given elaborate treatment with panelled soffits and jambs, as are the doorways, one of which has panelled jambs flanked by paired strapwork pilasters, a strapwork and linenfold frieze, and a dentilled cornice enriched with egg and dart.

The entrance on the west front of the south range leads into an entrance hall with the principal stair opposite, flanked by two reception rooms on the right and one on the left. The handsome and substantial open well stair is supported by twisted columns with Ionic capitals. It has a closed string, turned balusters, panelled square newel posts with acorn finials, and a panelled dado.

The room to the south of the hall has linenfold panelling to dado height with a delicate frieze of scrolls interlaced with classical urns. The carved wooden fireplace has a scrolling foliate frieze and paired strapwork pilasters, and a bronze insert with a hood and studded roundels bearing the date 1903 and the owner's initials. The elaborate plaster ceiling cornice is enriched with bead and reel, oakleaf and four-cornered flowers.

The room at the southernmost end has full-height 17th-century style panelling with short lower panels and tall upper panels. The scheme incorporates the doors, fluted pilasters in the canted bay window, and the fireplace. This has a stone bolection moulded surround and a wooden mantelshelf supported by scrolled brackets adorned with acanthus leaves. The room to the east of the hall has large square panelling to dado height, and its canted bay window is framed by a panelled opening with 18th-century style display cabinets. The detail in the joinery is picked out in marquetry forming a billet and strapwork design.

In the original part of the house, an elegant spiral staircase occupies the central bay at the front. Made of mahogany, it has a closed string, turned balusters and a scrolled handrail. The small room to the east contains a First World War memorial in the form of a large full-height panel with railings and a tripartite frame containing the names of those in the Colman company who fell in action. There is an additional plaque for those who fell in the Second World War.

The large room occupying the central bay on the west side of the house contains the elaborate carved woodwork by James Minns. It has full-height 17th-century style panelling and an ornate plasterwork ceiling in a geometric design, the wide ribs embellished with a guilloche pattern. The full-height timber fireplace has paired spiral columns and scroll consoles supporting the mantelshelf. The large central mirror above is flanked by paired pilasters with carved bird and branch motifs and central roundels with carved projecting heads. Ceramic shields are positioned above the capitals.

Some of the subsidiary rooms on the ground floor have been partitioned, as have parts of the first floor where fire doors have also been inserted, dating from the building's use as offices. Generally, the internal decoration of the first floor is much less elaborate than the reception rooms, although many elements of interest remain, including panelled window shutters, classical style doorcases, and fireplaces in a variety of styles, some with grey marble surrounds and others with wooden carved neo-Jacobean detailing.

The basement appears to have been used for both services and business-related offices as some of the rooms are plain whilst others have elaborate fireplaces of neo-Jacobean character. Many of the rooms have built-in cupboards, and the former kitchen retains the wide wooden surround where the cooking range would have been.

Garden Features and Subsidiary Structures

On the south-east corner of the house, stone balustraded steps lead up to the walkway across the rear elevation, surmounted by a highly ornate openwork square iron pier with S-shaped scrolls. This retains the base of a lantern. The balustrade continues at right angles for approximately two metres and joins the wall that surrounds the small formal garden laid out to the south of the house in 1908. The low brick wall is covered in roughcast render and has a flat stone coping. There are two sets of ornate iron gates at the north-east corner and the south end, flanked by square piers with concrete ball finials.

At the north-west corner, on the right of the steps leading up to the conservatory, is a wooden bench fitted into a curved section of the wall. The bench is supported by stone brackets and flanked by square piers with large ornate scrolled brackets. The seating area is paved in irregular stone and has a central carved timber post which formerly held up a parasol.

In the centre of the garden is a circular pond edged in stone in which flint is inlaid forming the date 1908.