Burnt House Sandstones

This is a mid-to-late 19th century house, likely a remodelling of an earlier building, situated on Langton Road in Speldhurst. It has been divided into two separate dwellings, “Burnt House” and “Sandstones”. The exterior is constructed of local sandstone ashlar, each block hammer-dressed with a plain border, and has a slate roof with brick chimney stacks. The architectural style is eclectic, combining Tudor-style windows with classical masonry detailing.

The house’s plan is approximately rectangular and double-depth, with the front elevation facing southwest, overlooking Langton Road. "Sandstones" is located to the northeast, and “Burnt House” to the southwest, retaining the original entrance. An entrance to "Sandstones" was added on the northwest elevation in the 1960s when the house was divided. The interior was not inspected during the survey.

The house is mainly two storeys high, with a three-storey block to the north (Sandstones). The roof is hipped. A platband runs along the first-floor level, and there are deep eaves. The windows are painted mullion and transom style, most featuring elliptical arched heads to the upper lights, with chamfered stone sills and large-pane casements. The asymmetrical southwest front has three windows, with the two left-hand bays projecting forward under a lean-to roof. The front door is centrally positioned within a recessed porch and is a four-panel door with an overlight, flanked by glazed panels. Above the front door is a section of imitation timber framing below a four-light window. There are three-light windows on each floor of the left-hand bay. The set-back right-hand bay has a 20th-century casement window on the ground floor and a three-light window on the first floor. The northwest elevation is more irregular, with four bays rising to three storeys at the left end, and two projecting two-storey bays to the right. The first bay from the right has a hipped roof, a coved cornice, and a stone plinth with a section of imitation framing between the first and ground-floor windows, which are six-light plus one-light to each return. The right-hand bay has a three-light window on both the first and ground floors. A 1960s two-panel door has replaced an original three-light mullion and transom window in the second bay from the right; a similar window is located above. Similar windows are found in the three-storey block at the left end.