The Royal Meteorological Society, 104 Oxford Road

Detached house, built in the late C18 or early C19, converted to offices in the C20.

MATERIALS AND PLAN: red brick in Flemish bond with a stone or painted stone portico and cornice and slate tile roof. The main rear elevation is smooth rendered. Two storeys, possibly with basement.

EXTERIOR: the principal southern elevation, facing Oxford Road is a symmetrical composition of five bays with classical proportions. The main entrance comprises a six-panelled door under a sunburst fanlight, beneath a stone or painted stone Doric portico. The portico is flanked by two pairs of six-over-six sash windows with gauged brickwork heads and stone cills, and there are five matching sash windows on the first floor. There is a cornice parapet concealing the lower section of the double-pitched roof. The east elevation on to Eaton Place has a number of scars from brickwork repairs. There is a single six-over-six sash window with stone cill and gauged brickwork jack arch head on the ground floor and a similar three-over-six sash window to the attic. The west elevation contains two modern six-over-six sash windows on the ground floor and one on the first floor. There is a six-over-six sash window under a gauged brick jack arch to the attic. The brickwork of the east and west elevations has been built up between the pairs of ridge chimney stacks. The rear elevation of the building is smooth rendered and contains modern sash windows.

A single-storey extension adjoins the north and east elevations of the building. It has a hipped slate roof with brick dentils, and a modern casement window and door on its south elevation under gauged brickwork jack arches. Its north elevation has been rebuilt and contains two modern casement windows.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the front garden is paved and bounded by a brick wall with sections of metal railings.

104 Oxford Road was previously listed as Mannson House.