Institute Of St Marcellina

The Institute of St Marcellina is a detached house, dating from 1874-76 and built in the free Queen-Anne style by R. Norman Shaw for his own residence. A northward extension to the rear was added in 1885-86, also by Shaw, with minor additions in 1892-93, and later alterations. The house is constructed of red brick, with narrow bricks used for the main facades and standard bricks at the rear, accented by rubbed brick detailing and decorative brick chimneys. Tile-hanging, wooden bargeboards, plaster ornamentation, and rendering are also present. The roofs are tiled, and the windows are white-painted timber with leaded lights.

The south-facing front is irregular in form, spanning three and four storeys. The left-hand portion features a prominent, three-storey canted bay window topped with a Chinese-style balcony (originally timber, now iron) and a small, tile-hung dormer gable with bargeboards. The right-hand portion displays tiers of three "Ipswich oriels", embellished with plasterwork, also beneath a similar dormer gable. Central windows are tall and narrow, irregularly placed. A single-storey entrance porch, located on the extreme right, has a rubbed brick surround and an overhanging carved timber hood in the style of Wren, which returns to the side. A tall, square brick chimney stack rises from the roof to the right of the centre, decorated with brick carvings. The western and northern elevations of the original house are also irregular, with a large, projecting chimneybreast on the west end, the brickwork of which has been repaired. The 1885-86 western extension has three storeys and a broad, flat-topped, polygonal canted bay window rising through the upper storeys and rendered between floors. The northern end elevation of the same extension showcases another prominent chimneybreast. Later additions are situated on the east side.

Interior features include the original panelled entrance hall and main staircase, along with elements of the reception rooms on the first floor. The dining room remains in good condition, featuring softwood panelling to frieze height (originally painted, now stained and varnished), exposed timber beams, a deep inglenook with applied timber and leather decoration, and Hispano-Moresque tiles flanking the fireplace. A “den”, accessible via a private staircase over the inglenook, is also present. Portions of the former back drawing room, including elements of a decorative screen and a deep bay window, survive, though the chimney-piece has been altered and the frieze destroyed. A fireplace and part of a screen are also found in the front drawing room.

Historically, the building served as Norman Shaw's residence from 1876 to 1912. It was within the “den” above the inglenook that he designed many of his buildings, particularly after 1896. The informal design of the house contributed to the evolution of the Queen Anne style.