Pond House

Pond House is a villa dating to circa 1800, built on a large scale. It has two main storeys, an attic, and a basement, originally with three windows across the front, the central bay slightly set back. The exterior is stuccoed and features incised lines, a first-floor cill string, a cornice, and a blocking course. The roof is low-pitched and slate-covered, with three flat dormers. The basement is banded and creates the impression of voussoirs to low lunettes. The windows are sash windows with glazing bars, and ornamental cast iron guards. Ground-floor windows are tripartite and set within segmental arched recesses, each with a large central patera. A rebuilt set of steps leads to a central, projecting semicircular porch, which features fluted Roman Doric columns, an entablature with a bucranium frieze, and a blocking course. The porch is enclosed by a pretty wrought iron railing. The central double door, with shaped panels in a moulded architrave, has small flanking windows. Concave quadrant walls on either side contain doorways with entablature surrounds and bucranium friezes. Inside, a graceful curved wrought iron staircase is a notable feature. The building forms a group with numbers 158 to 162 (even), the stable, wall to number 162, and Bishop Wood’s Almhouses.