Dell Court House Including Garden Wall To North East

Dell Court House including garden wall to north east, Lowestoft

A farmhouse formerly known as No.67 Dell Road, originally built in the mid-17th century and substantially rebuilt in the 18th century, dated 1775. The building is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond with burnt headers. The roofing comprises black-glazed pantiles to the main east front and red pantiles elsewhere. The structure is of two storeys with a dormer attic.

The east front displays four irregular bays, their irregularity reflecting the retention of the 17th-century room disposition within. A square 20th-century brick porch is positioned at the extreme right, while a second entrance in the second bay from the left is marked by a 20th-century half-glazed door beneath a segmental arch. The fenestration consists of late 19th-century three-light cross casements with leaded glazing and metal opening leafs; those on the ground floor sit beneath segmental arches. The second-bay first-floor casement has only two lights. A dentil eaves cornice runs along this front. Above the left-hand door, the exposed end of a tie beam is inscribed with the date GSE 1775. The roof is gabled with a central gabled dormer lit by a two-light leaded casement. An external stack rises from the south gable, with a ridge stack positioned right of centre. The south gable is rendered; the north gable shows some tumbling. A dentil eaves cornice also appears at the rear.

The rear elevation is largely obscured by a 19th-century single-storey outshut to the right and a gabled extension running west from the north end. The outshut features a central 20th-century glazed door flanked by a two-light metal casement to the left and a three-light cross casement to the right. Against the outshut's south end stands a lean-to 20th-century conservatory. The main wall is lit at first-floor level by two two-light casements. Two gabled dormers and a stack emerge through the roof to the left. The 18th-century gabled extension was originally free-standing. It comprises one storey and a dormer attic, approached by 20th-century brick steps leading to a plank door beneath a prominent through-eaves gable. A single-light 19th-century casement is positioned to the left, with a four-light casement of the same period to the right. A 20th-century glazed door is set in the angle where the extension meets the house. The north side has a full-length outshut with mixed 19th and 20th-century casements, which runs flush to the porch outshut constructed against the north gable wall of the main house.

The interior, though now predominantly of late 20th-century character, retains some earlier details. The kitchen at the north end contains a plain bridging beam and a 17th-century three-plank door opening into the scullery. In the north-west corner is a dairy with a bench set over arches. The centre room features chamfered bridging beams with tongue stops and a rebuilt fireplace beneath plain panelling. Flanking this room are cupboards fitted with butterfly hinges. The staircase hall lies immediately south, with early 20th-century stairs. A heavy wall plate separates this from the final south room. The roof structure visible at the north end shows 19th-century rafters and through purlins. The gabled outbuilding's interior reveals a timber-framed east wall that terminates short of the present house. Its roof comprises principals with two tiers of staggered butt purlins and collars.

A garden wall of late 18th-century date runs east from the north-east corner of the main house, constructed of random-bond brick with patches of flint and terminated by gate piers. The wall features rounded coping bricks.