The Belfry, including gate piers and gates

The Belfry is a large detached house designed and built in 1892 by the architects Lainson & Sons in the Vernacular Revival style.

The house is constructed of red brick in English bond with tile-hanging to the upper floors and gables, featuring alternate bands of plain and curved tiles. There is a partial band of roughcast below the eaves, some stone window dressings, wooden windows and balcony, and tiled roofs with brick chimneystacks.

The house is asymmetrical in plan, comprising two storeys, attics and a cellar. The ground floor contains an entrance porch leading to a staircase hall, dining room, drawing room, sitting room, living room and service rooms. The first floor contains six bedrooms, with two further bedrooms in the attics.

The south-west entrance front is composed of three sections. The entrance itself is a four-centred arched opening in stone with pilasters, balustrading and a ten-panel door with side-lights. The central section rises two storeys with attics, the top floor hung with pointed tiles and containing a Venetian window, with a two-storey six-light splayed bay below having stone mullions and transoms. The southern section has a first floor wooden balcony with decorative wooden posts and balustrading panels, and terminates in an octagonal two-storey corner bell tower. The upper floor of this tower is tile-hung with round-headed casement windows, whilst the ground floor has lancet windows. The tower is crowned by a domed cupola with an iron finial. The northern section is two storeys with alternate courses of pointed and plain tiles to the upper floor and a large projecting ribbed brick chimneystack with stone details and an elaborate moulded brick date plaque. It contains a first floor three-light casement window and a ground floor curved bay window with a semi-domed roof.

The south-east elevation is two storeys with attics, tile-hung upper floors and a Venetian window in the attic. A seven-light two-storey square bay with stone mullions and transoms occupies the lower portion, with a further mullion window on the ground floor.

The north-east elevation has two storeys and three gables supported on brackets. The upper floor contains three Ipswich windows, the ground floor a four-light mullion window and a round-headed service entrance.

The north-west elevation comprises three bays with a recessed centre containing a Venetian window in the attic and a wide mullion and transom window below, flanked by projecting gables with four-light mullion and transom windows.

The interior is entered through the front porch into an inner entrance with an elliptical fanlight with leaded lights and stained glass featuring foliate patterns. A panelled door with side-lights opens into a full-height reception hall with dado panelling, a bolection-moulded fireplace with cast iron fire grate, five-panelled doors with moulded architraves and cornices, and a double half-glazed door with strapwork motifs and leaded lights. Both the porch and entrance hall have tessellated floors with floral designs.

A straight flight staircase rises over two storeys with dado panelling and Jacobean type balusters, with built-in cupboards on the landing. It leads to an open gallery on the first floor with ribbed and panelled ceiling, similar dado panelling and balusters, square newel posts with finials and round-headed arches with wooden reeded pilasters.

The Drawing Room at the south-west end of the ground floor features a ribbed and panelled ceiling, painted dado panelling and a window seat. The fireplace is set in a round-headed recess with eared architraves and attached elongated console brackets, a moulded shelf, overmantel and blue tiles adjoining the fire grate. An octagonal turret recess opens from this room.

The Sitting Room at the south-east end has a moulded cornice, similar dado panelling and a fireplace with a Gibbs surround.

The Dining Room to the west of the reception hall has a similar panelled ceiling, painted dado panelling, a window seat and a fireplace with tapering Ionic pilasters, moulded cornice, original tiles and fire grate with a mirrored overmantel.

The room to the east of the reception hall was originally a reception room but more recently served as a kitchen.

The ground floor service end features a separate service staircase with moulded balusters and retains original room divisions.

On the first floor, the large west bedroom has a fire surround with a Gibbs surround and an inter-war mottled tiled grate. The south-west bedroom has a wooden fire surround with a moulded cornice. The south-east bedroom contains a moulded cornice, small tiled fire grate and built-in wooden cupboard. The eastern bedroom has a moulded cornice, a similar tiled fire surround to the south-east bedroom and deep moulded skirting boards.

The attics retain their original room divisions.

On the street boundary to the south-west of the house, opposite the main entrance, are a pair of 1892 gate piers and gates. The gate piers are of red brick with a moulded brick base, a stone band near the top and moulded stone pyramidal tops with ball finials. They are linked by cast iron gates with dog rails, scrolled side panels and scrolled overthrows.