St Josephs Convent And Attached Railings

St Joseph's Convent, originally a private house, was built around 1835 and converted into a convent in 1858. Later alterations occurred around 1872. The building is constructed of brick in Flemish bond, with a parapeted roof that was obscured by scaffolding at the time of the 1992 survey.

The house has a 2-window front, but extends to the west where it rises to 3 storeys and has 4 windows. An entrance is set within a Tuscan aedicule with wreaths to the entablature, featuring a 4-panel studded door with side and overlights. A full-height segmental bay is located to the left, while a 3-window full-height canted bay is to the right. Most windows are sashes of an original design, with ground-floor windows measuring 6x6 panes and first-floor windows 3x3 panes, though some are currently boarded over. Flat arches form the window headers. A brick dentil cornice runs along the top of the building. Stacks were rebuilt in approximately 1991 in an original style.

The chapel, which is part of the convent, is located to the rear of the 2-storey section. A room serving as the chapel's narthex was originally the front parlour of the house and retains original cornices and mouldings, some of which are to be covered by a drop ceiling. An anthemion pattern appears throughout the ground floor. A drawing room above the narthex features mouldings from around 1870. The entrance hall has an anthemion cornice and a dogleg staircase with cast-iron railings and balusters, and a wooden rail. The sitting and dining rooms in the 3-storey section were originally linked by folding doors and feature ovolo-moulded cornices with paterae, and fireplaces with battered pilasters. Original doors have been removed during restoration, and their replacement is currently uncertain. The first floor of the 3-storey section includes a wooden fireplace with battered pilasters. Later additions to the rear are sympathetic in design and create courtyards to the left and right of the main building.