Four Acres And Attached Terrace, Wall And Steps

Four Acres and attached terrace, wall and steps

Large house built in 1929 by architect George Warren, now a management training centre. It is designed in the Vernacular Revival style and represents a fine example of 1920s architectural practice.

The building is constructed of narrow bricks with occasional blocks of stone, decorative tiles on edge and pebbles inserted into the brickwork. Parts are timber-framed with plastered or herringbone brick infill, and tile-hanging appears on the first floor of the service wing. The roofs are tiled with a series of hips and gables, some featuring carved bargeboards, and there are five tall brick ribbed chimneystacks. The house is asymmetrical, two storeys high with irregular fenestration. All windows are late 20th-century casements designed to the original pattern, set in original brick or wooden frames. Decorative rainwater heads are a notable feature. A late 20th-century extension to the north is not of special architectural interest.

The north or entrance front includes a right bay with a brick ground floor featuring a four-light mullioned and transomed window, tile-hung above with a four-light casement. A timber-framed gable with herringbone brick infill contains a recessed angled doorway with a four-centred arch, carved panel and spandrels decorated with a Tudor rose, and double doors with deep panels and decorative ironmongery. The doorway is flanked by two single-storey hipped projections, timber-framed with plastered infill and diagonal braces. The adjoining bay to the left has a brick ground floor and timber-framed first floor with a large 7:3:3 casement lighting the staircase and a 2-light window below. A projecting hipped bay of brick features a 5-light window supported on brackets with two 2-light windows below. The recessed service wing to the left has three projecting hips, a tile-hung first floor with four casement windows, and a ground floor of timber-framed construction with diagonal braces and four casements.

The south or garden front has a service wing on the right with three hipped dormers, a tile-hung first floor with five casements (one supported on three brackets), and a brick ground floor with five casements and a two-light window in a brick surround. The left-hand side comprises a brick ground floor and timber-framed first floor with diagonal braces and herringbone brick infill. Two large projecting timber-framed gables feature patterns of diagonal braces, plastered infill, carved bargeboards with pendants, large 6:4 casements, and an overhang on brackets. The ground floor has a 7-light mullioned and transomed casement. The recessed part has a hipped four-light dormer, two 3-light casements to the first floor, and three double doors to the ground floor. The remainder of this front has a hipped 3-light dormer, a 5-light oriel on brackets to the first floor, and a 4-light mullioned and transomed window in a brick surround to the ground floor. A wide entrance with six arches to a fanlight and double doors is a prominent feature.

The west side comprises two ranges. The southern range is timber-framed with mainly herringbone brick infill and carved bargeboards with finials. It has one 3-light casement to the attic and two to the first floor. The ground floor has red brick piers and recessed doors with 12 arched fanlights and three sets of double doors. The northern range is set back and smaller, with a gabled form, a red brick ground floor, and a tile-hung first floor with two casements on the first floor and a 5-light bay to the ground floor with a lead cornice decorated with a grape pattern.

The east side has a gable end with a brick ground floor and tile-hanging above, and a one-storey brick enclosing wall with a tiled parapet.

Attached to the west and south fronts is a low brick terrace wall with stone coping, brick and stone paving, and a flight of stone steps, all forming part of the original design.

Interior

The Lounge rises to the full height of the building with panelling to the lower part. It features a three-bay crownpost roof with square crownposts and head braces, an open gallery with moulded balusters, and a brick Baronial-style open fireplace with niches and carved seats.

The Dining Room has deep fielded panelling of early 18th-century type and a recessed brick chimneypiece with a tile pattern and elaborate keystone set in a four-centred arch with pilasters and panels of linenfold panelling. Double doors lead to two smaller rooms with plastered ceilings, one of which has had a later 20th-century bar inserted.

The Main Staircase is a well staircase in the Jacobean style with elaborate carved balusters and square newel posts with pyramidal caps supported on four wooden balls.

The Reading Room features an original curved brick fireplace with unusual decoration of pebbles and a moulded cornice.

The Billiard Room has a plastered ceiling with strapwork panels, a timber alcove, arched openings, balusters above doors, and window seats.