Bishopsgrove

Bishopsgrove is a detached house designed by the notable local architect George Rake in the late 1860s, located on Osborn Road in Fareham. The house is set back from the street behind its own generous gardens and a Grade II listed flint boundary wall. A two-storey extension was added to the west in 1997, with minor additions and alterations made in the late 20th century.

The exterior is constructed of galletted flint dressed with yellow brick quoins and window surrounds, under a slate roof. The principal south-facing elevation has a symmetrical double gabled front with canted bay windows on the ground floor; the western bay extends to the second floor and is a later addition. The eastern return comprises a projecting gable bay and a broad chimney breast flanking a yellow brick Gothic entrance porch. The porch features a polychromatic brick arched opening with hood-moulding and decorative stops. All gables—to the principal elevation, the porch, and the eastern return—have scalloped bargeboards with quatrefoil perforations and finials. The ground floor bay window has a crenellated parapet. Other windows feature hood mouldings, gauged brick pointed arches or stone lintels, and all retain their original timber frames. The house has tall chimneys in brick and flint. The western and rear elevations are plainer, with unglastered flint and fenestration determined by function. The 1997 extension to the west is executed in a sympathetic style using similar materials and connects to the principal elevation by a single-storey corridor.

The interior displays a very high degree of survival of mid-19th century fabric and features. These include the timber door and encaustic tiles in the entrance porch; a principal stairway with carved square newel posts and barley-sugar balusters; a servants' winder staircase; multiple fireplaces ranging from large marble and stone surrounds in the reception rooms to small timber mantelshelf and simple grates in the servants' rooms; numerous original doors with distinctive splayed panels; window seat joinery in a similar design; original cornices in the principal rooms; and a kitchen range. The only major internal alteration since the late 1860s is the insertion of two windows in the wall dividing the former servants' quarters from the main house. Despite this change, the distinctions between these two areas remain clearly legible through the separate staircase, differences in room size, and variations in fireplace style, which contributes significantly to the building's special interest.

The grounds contain two subsidiary buildings dating from the mid-19th century. A coach house of one and a half storeys is built in flint and brick with a bargeboard and finial on the eastern gable matching the main house. A small outbuilding stands immediately behind the house. Both are contemporary with Bishopsgrove and are included in the listing.

Bishopsgrove was constructed in the late 1860s and is contemporary with its neighbour, The Grange, likely also designed by Rake. The site appeared undeveloped on the first Ordnance Survey map of 1868, though plans of The Grange dated 1860 suggest construction occurred shortly after that survey. Both houses appear on the second Ordnance Survey map of 1898. The two buildings are very similar. George Rake was a notable local architect responsible for several Grade II listed buildings in Portsmouth, including St James' Hospital, Milton Prison, and St Mary's Church, Kingston. The house has been extended since the 19th century with a two-storey range to the west, and rear additions in the form of a single-storey office building.

Osborn Road was laid out from the mid-19th century by Charles Osborn (1794–1859), a Fareham resident. Each building plot was bounded by handsome flint boundary walls, all listed Grade II, which lend consistency to the street despite varying architectural styles and materials. The street contains several other listed buildings including Ellesmere Cottage and the Vicarage of Holy Trinity Church. All villas are set back from the street with generous garden space to forecourts and rears. Taken as a whole, the street demonstrates the mid-to-late 19th century approach to architectural style, which saw no inconsistency in placing an Italianate villa alongside a Gothic house or combining late-Georgian proportions with mid-19th century decorative elements within a single composition.