Montclare House

Montclare House is a large house dating to 1908, designed by H Falkner for R C Ratcliffe. The house was originally known as Ilona House and is located off Greenhill Road, Farnham.

The building is constructed of red brick with blue headers in a Flemish bond, with a plain tile roof. It is designed in a late 17th-century style. The garden elevation has five bays, with a lower, recessed wing to the right, featuring a bow with three curved windows on each floor. A French window occupies the centre of the ground floor of the recessed wing. The five bays to the left have rusticated end piers and decorative rainwater heads. Sash windows with 12 panes are set within bolection-moulded brick surrounds with moulded sills; ground-floor windows have dripmoulds, and first-floor windows have apron panels and swept, keyed heads. The central bay projects, featuring a small-pane, half-glazed double door and overlight beneath a deep, bracketed canopy supporting an iron-railed balcony. A tall first-floor window opens onto the balcony, and both the door and window have matching surrounds. The eaves cornice rises at the centre as a segmental pediment over enriched moulded brickwork. The roof is an oversailing hipped roof with three hipped-dormers and broad, panelled, corniced chimneys.

The entrance elevation is arranged as 1:3:1:2 bays, with the three left-hand bays forming the main element. Two curved marble steps lead to a central double door with carved decoration and decorative glazing bars in the overlight, all set within a rusticated ashlar surround with fluted, composite-capitalled pilasters supporting an entablature and segmental pediment. The tympanum of the pediment features an enriched cartouche. Segmental-arched windows with tile keystones and moulded tile sills contain 12-pane sashes and panelled shutters. A modillion eaves cornice runs along the top. The roof is an oversailing hipped roof. Bay 5 has a tripartite stair window with panelled pilaster jambs and a console-bracketed central pediment. A rainwater head is dated in bay 6.

The interior retains original contemporary features, including a polished green stone floor to the entrance vestibule, panelled doors, decorative fireplaces, cornices, and a staircase with twist balusters. R C Ratcliffe had the stairs built to replicate those at Holland House, Eton. H Falkner closely supervised the building process and is said to have carved some of the entrance stonework himself.