Castle Hill House, including attached garden wall with gatepiers to south-east

Castle Hill House

Castle Hill House was built in 1760 by the Stringer family in classical style. In the early 19th century a curved bay was added on the south-west side and some internal refurbishing was carried out.

The building is constructed of brown brick in Flemish bond with red brick voussoirs and stone bands and a cornice. It has a tiled roof with end brick chimneysstacks. The plan comprises two parallel ranges and seven bays over three storeys, attics and basement, with a central doorcase and staircase.

The symmetrical north-east entrance front has seven bays, with the central three bays projecting slightly under a pediment containing an oval window in the tympanum. There is a parapet with a stone bracket cornice, a stone band under the ground and first floor windows and a wider stone band above the ground floor windows. Windows are sashes with horns; three-over-three to the second floor and six-over-six to the ground and first floors. The central entrance is pedimented with a bracket cornice and Ionic half-columns with panelled reveals and an eight-panelled door.

The south-east side has end chimneysstacks, a small first floor extension and an attached section of garden wall enclosing a forecourt, ramped up near the house, incorporating a blocked carriage entrance with square brick gate piers with stone caps. The south-west side has at its south end a full-height curved bay over two storeys of three windows, with six-over-six sash windows on the first floor. It originally had identical windows on the ground floor but these were shortened, probably in the second half of the 20th century, leaving the upper half of six panes. Adjoining is a three-bay section with a mansard roof, three flat-roofed dormers and three six-over-six sash windows. Beyond it is a section of two bays under a roof hipped at the north end with similar six-over-six sash windows and a further section of two bays with six-over-six sash windows. The north-west side is rendered.

The entrance from the north-east leads directly into the central staircase hall. This contains a staircase with mahogany handrail, alternate spiral and plain turned balusters, finely carved tread ends and column newel posts. The walls are panelled with a bracket cornice, moulded dado rail, a deep skirting board and six-panelled door. The adjoining room to the north has a cornice with alternate brackets and paterae, panelling with a dado rail and a plastered rococo ceiling. This ceiling has a central moulded ceiling rose and four corner panels with wheat ear drops, cornucopiae, caduceus (the staff of Hermes who gave protection to merchants), and incorporates grapes in the design, symbolising the source of the wealth of the Stringer family, who were wine merchants. The wooden Gibbs surround fireplace is finely carved with a central shallow basket of flowers and has a Delft tiled interior. Above is a finely carved wooden surround, now containing a mirror but probably originally designed for a painting. The original window shutters survive. The ground floor south-east reception room has early 19th-century panelled double connecting doors into the large south-west reception room with curved bay, which has a mid-19th-century marble fireplace and a dumb waiter.

The central first floor staircase-hall has a moulded cornice and a series of early 19th-century reeded door architraves with paterae to panelled doors. A short early 19th-century flight of stairs, with three slender turned balusters, finely carved scrolled tread ends and a column newel post, leads to the large south-west reception room. This has a curved bay window and is called the Churchill Room after one of its most notable speakers. It has an early 19th-century fireplace of three colours of marble, with paterae, pilasters and a cast iron fire grate, a moulded cornice, dado rail and skirting board. The first floor south-east room has a plastered rococo ceiling with a ceiling rose and four panels of similar character to the ground floor north room; also a moulded cornice, dado rail and skirting board. There is a powder closet leading off on the south side.

The staircase flight between the first and second floors has plainer turned balusters and scrolled tread ends. On the south-east side of the second floor is an early 19th-century fireplace with a reeded surround and paterae. The north-east room, possibly originally a housekeeper's room, has a dentil cornice, panelling, dado rail, a built-in picture surround, two-panelled doors to cupboards either side of the central fireplace and a corner laundry cupboard with shelves. A number of smaller rooms on this floor were probably used for servants' accommodation.

The cellar has stone steps and contains original stone wine bins, a larger barrel store and a Second World War air raid shelter. An attached garden wall with gatepiers to the south-east forms part of the listing.