Ham House Gatehouse And Attached And Associated Gatepiers

The gatehouse and associated gatepiers were built in 1900, designed by R D Oliver for the Dysart family, as an approach to Ham House. The gatehouse is constructed in red brick in English bond with stone dressings and a tile roof, and is executed in a Jacobean style. It is symmetrical, two storeys high, and has three bays with a central archway rising through both storeys. The design incorporates a deep moulded stone plinth, flush stone quoins overlaid by continuous moulded cornices and storey bands, a stone parapet with balustrades and shafts surmounted by finials, and a stone arch with strapwork spandrels. The archway features raised panels, a panelled frieze, and an enriched cornice. Flanking the archway are two-storey canted bays with five-light stone mullioned windows, each with iron casements and rectangular leaded panes and iron stays. Moulded storey bands form cornices at each level. On the rear elevation, the design is simpler but consistent. The central archway is moulded, with a scroll keystone and strapwork spandrels, plain frieze and cornice and raised panelled linings. There are three-light stone mullioned casements with rectangular leaded panes in iron frames with stays. The central gable bears a coat of arms of the Dysart family and the date MCM, flanked by parapet finials. The returns each have a shaped gable with stone copings, surmounted by triple brick stacks set diagonally on chamfered stone bases with deep moulded stone caps. A small, flat-roofed extension has been added to each return, which is not of special interest. A section of stock brick walling with chamfered copings attaches a gate pier to the gatehouse to the north. A link to the south is obscured by ivy. A central flat-roofed passage features a moulded stone cornice, and a pair of opposing doors are set within moulded stone doorcases with shallow four-centred arches on moulded shafts, a raised panelled frieze, and moulded cornices. The doors have studded and moulded stiles and muntins.

The gatepiers, located to the north and south, present alternating red brick and stone bands, the stone bands treated as banded rustication, with moulded stone plinths and deep cornices. The inner gatepier, attached to the house, is presumed to date from around 1900, while the northern gatepier appears to be older. The southern gatepiers are hidden. The outer face of each northern gatepier has an offset shaft in red brick and stone, capped with an inverted scroll.