Dulwich College Preparatory School And Attached Balustrade

SOUTHWARK

TQ3273 DULWICH COMMON 636-1/15/283 (North side) Dulwich College Preparatory School, and attached balustrade

II

Formerly known as: Brightlands DULWICH COMMOM. House. 1862-1884. By Charles Barry Junior. For solicitor of Dulwich College Estates, now Dulwich College Preparatory School. French Second Empire style. MATERIALS: brick in Flemish bond with stone dressings. Mansard roof of slate. PLAN: roughly rectangular in plan. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys and dormers over basement. Garden elevation to south has 5-window range, the end ranges treated as slightly projecting pavilions. Brick to basement treated as rustication with a stone plinth to ground-floor on all elevations. To ground floor in each end range, a flat-arched tripartite window with cornice above and architrave. Flat-arched centre windows set in round-arched recesses with springing band; the tympanum of each filled with a shell motif; keystone to each round arch historiated. Sill band to 1st-floor windows which are flat-arched with shouldered and eared architraves. Entablature and cornice to all elevations. 3 dormer windows, pedimented with shouldered architrave symmetrically disposed. Right return with double-height, round-arched stair window; to either side a chimney breast; segmental-arched entrance in centre. All stacks above roof line have been altered. Left return of 2-window range; all windows flat-arched, those to the ground-floor with architraves. Entrance elevation: the right side of this sets back to form a distinctly plainer wing with chimney breast. The main section has a 3-window range, bilaterally symmetrical about a single-storey entrance porch with coupled Tuscan corner pilasters; spandrels of round-arched door ornamented with shields set in acanthus scrolls; keystone carved as bearded man. All other openings are flat-arched, those to either side of entrance with architraves and cornice brackets. Sill band to 1st floor, with windows similar to those on the garden elevation. 3 dormers as on garden elevation. INTERIOR: south-facing room, ground-floor with original cornice and fire surround; cornice moulding in hall and elsewhere. Stair has wreathed handrail with curtail step; turned spindles. Of special interest is a concrete crawlspace

built when the building was used by the army during WWII; this led from east side of basement to basement of house to the east. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: parapet with balustrade to entrance elevation. (Piggot, J: Charles Barry Junior and the Dulwich College Estate: 1986-: 9).

Listing NGR: TQ3293273112