Frant Court And Attached Wall

FRANT COURT AND ATTACHED WALL

Originally a house, later used as a school. The core of the building dates from approximately 1872 to 1875 and was built for Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe (originally Stratford Canning), cousin to Prime Minister George Canning and former Ambassador to Turkey. The architect is not currently known. Before his death in 1880, Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe renamed the building from Park House to Frant Court.

A further extension to the north was added by 1910, possibly comprising a service wing and garage. Significant alterations and additions were carried out in 1913 to 1914 by G E Streitfeild, a pupil of Sir T G Jackson, for Miss Thornton. These works included a full-height extension to the south-eastern corner containing a billiard room with additional bedrooms above, a porch facing Frant Road, complete remodelling of the northern wing to provide kitchen and other service elements, and interior remodelling. Following Streitfeild's work, Gertrude Jekyll completed the woodland garden and steps. Later 20th-century additions are not of special interest. The building is designed in a Vernacular Revival style reminiscent of R Norman Shaw.

EXTERIOR

The building is asymmetrical, with a ground floor of red brick and upper floors hung with plain or curved tiles. It has plaintiled roofs with eleven clustered brick chimneystacks, two storeys and attics, and irregular fenestration. Windows are mainly wooden casements or mullioned and transomed casements with leaded lights.

The principal architectural feature is the subtle arrangement of tall gables. The north or service wing has two wide gables, followed to the left by a projecting gable, a recessed gable, then paired gables with a canted bay to the left and frieze window to the right. The main entrance is a gabled brick and timber-framed porch. To the left are a pair of gables with an external brick chimneystack positioned between them. Attached to the front is a red brick garden wall with brick coping and a corner pier with stone finial, ramped up to a four-centred arch with a lower section connected to the porch.

The left side elevation features a tall canted bay with a five-light window to the second floor. The rear elevation has a projecting right side gable with a second floor recessed window, a six-light bay window to the first floor, and a six-light mullioned and transomed window to the ground floor. Two recessed gables to the left each have different fenestration, one with a five-light bay to the first floor, followed by a projecting gable with five-light mullioned and transomed windows. Between these four gables is a later 20th-century conservatory. There is a setback section with two hipped dormers featuring triple windows and below them central seven-light windows with two-light windows at the ends. To the extreme left are two further gables, and the range ends with a half-hipped roof.

INTERIOR

The interior contains early 20th-century oak joinery including at least three panelled rooms. Two rooms feature plank and muntin panelling, while one has panelling of early 18th-century type with fielded panels and a dado rail with doors. The main well staircase has two turned balusters to each tread and scrolled tread ends. Other staircases are reported to exist.

One room features a large four-centred stone fireplace flanked by pilasters. The room with early 18th-century style panelling contains a marble bolection-moulded fireplace. A further room has an Adam style moulded plaster ceiling.

LATER HISTORY

In the later 20th century, the building was used by a convent as a secure school for delinquent girls. The property was acquired by the London Borough of Greenwich in 1974 to 1975. The building is shown on the Ordnance Survey 25-inch map of 1875 as Park House, with a northern garage extension shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1910. A photograph from 1904 also documents the building.