Truro House

Truro House is an early to mid-19th century villa, with later 19th-century alterations and internal refurbishment. It is built of white brick, with a fairly low-pitched slated roof and eaves soffit.

The villa is two storeys high with an irregular arrangement of four windows. It has ornamental stucco surrounds to replaced casement windows, fitted with external louvred shutters. A lower, likely later, section extends to the north. A curved stone staircase with side walls supporting urns leads to a prostyle Corinthian porch featuring garlands in the frieze. The south-facing front garden has a projecting semi-circular bay with attached Ionic columns. Later 19th-century extensions in a Tudor style project from the east.

The interior is unusually complete with late 19th-century features. The living hall is panelled with a matching chimney piece and a modest panelled staircase. The dining room features a half-timbered bay and full-height panelling, carved beams, and an elaborately carved chimney piece, reputedly carved by craftsmen from Normandy. Stained glass armorial window panels are also present. The kitchen has original tiling and a range. The drawing room is panelled in a Louis Seize style, with painted grisaille panels, mirrored backs to the two-leaf entrance doors, a marble fireplace with a gilded over-mirror, a marble columned screen to a bay with French windows, and a pier glass.

On the first floor, a landing features a vaulted window bay with stained glass armorial panels, incorporating a pulpit to provide access to a Louis Seize style panelled bedroom featuring a marble fireplace, gilded overmantel mirror, and a pier glass. There is another Louis Seize style panelled bedroom with a painted panel above the marble fireplace, alongside a panelled room with a carved and painted chimney piece, a deeply coffered and painted ceiling, and a marble wash-basin reputedly brought from a chateau in Normandy. A half-timbered bedroom includes a marble fireplace and carved overmantel with a mirror. A marble bathroom features folding doors with mirrors on the interior. Parquet flooring of differing designs is found throughout.

Truro House was the residence of Thomas Wilde, Baron Truro of Bowes, Lord Chancellor from 1850 to 1852.