52, 52A AND 52B, RICHMOND ROAD

This is a house, built in 1843 by Charles Hide, the architect and town surveyor of Worthing. It is constructed of whitewashed stone rubble, cement render and pebbledash, with old tiled roofs. The house is designed in a Tudor Gothic style and stands two storeys high, incorporating attics.

The front of the house has two four-centred windows on the west side and a three-light mullioned and transomed, battlemented bay window on the east. The first floor features two two-light casements and a central two-light casement, along with a gabled two-light casement. The central entrance has a four-centred arched door, above which is a jettied first floor bay projection, part timber and part painted plaster imitating studwork, topped with a bargeboard gable. A prominent external chimney breast projects, corbelled out at first floor level with two twisted stacks. The west returned gable has a ground floor rectangular bay window and a first floor jettied upper gable with painted studwork and an elaborate bargeboard gable. The roof is hipped at the east end, featuring a battlemented parapet and twisted stacks. An east-facing wing at a canted angle features a ground floor cross window, a first floor three-light casement, and a jettied east gable with bargeboards. The garden front (north) has a returned gable wing at the west and large ground floor bay windows. A two-storey, pebble-dashed service wing with a slate roof is located at the rear (No. 52A).

The interior features an 'L' shaped ground floor hall with a dog-leg staircase; the staircase has Gothic newels and classical iron balusters. Walls show evidence of intended stucco lining, now painted. Doorcases have rusticated surrounds, plaster labels and heads, and panelled doors with two upper four-centred arches and lower quatrefoil panel tracery. The front door has similar details, along with two leaded side-lights. The ground floor and first floor landing ceilings are panelled and ribbed. A rusticated opening is present on the half landing. The two reception rooms of the hall feature Gothic plaster ceilings with friezes and cornices, and panelled window embrasures. Fireplaces are missing throughout the house. Details in the service wing suggest a construction date around 1840, similar to the main house.

This ambitious villa predates the main development of Worthing and stands out for its Tudor Gothic style, providing a picturesque contrast to the neighbouring neoclassical villas. The house was formerly known as Gothic Lodge and Tudor Court.