Courtenay Terrace Courtenay Towers And South East Wall

This mid-19th century villa, now part of Courtenay Terrace, was originally the main building of Hove Lea, as shown on an Ordnance Survey map of 1875. In 1933, the villa was divided, and in the 20th century, the parapet to the entrance tower was rebuilt as crenellations. The building is constructed of stucco over brick, with pilaster quoins to the tower. The roof is hidden behind a parapet. It has a double-fronted design with three storeys, and a projecting four-storey entrance tower. The tower features a cavetto moulded cornice and an ornamental frieze, with a modillion cornice to the second floor extending into the left-hand bay. The right-hand side of the building has a bottle balustraded parapet. The windows are sash windows with one vertical glazing bar in moulded surrounds, with keystones and rounded corners to the tops. Ground floor windows have bracketed friezes and rusticated keystones to segmental-headed openings, although these have been altered, with 20th-century casements filling the left opening and a large 20th-century window obscuring the right. A recessed porch, with paired Ionic pilasters framing an arch-head opening, is closed by double-hung cast-iron gates and panelled double doors with an ornamental grill and fanlight above, and is approached by a shallow flight of steps. The low, rendered garden walls consist of square piers with recessed panels, linked by walls with segmental recesses, exhibiting an unusual, slightly art deco design, likely dating from 1933. The rear garden wall is of coursed pebbles with cement hump-backed coping. The detailing is similar to that of Courtenayside, which abuts to the west.