No.15 Montague House

No. 15 Montague House is a detached villa dating from the late 18th century. It is constructed from limestone ashlar with a double-pitched slate roof and moulded stacks to the coped gable ends. The building has a double-depth plan, flanked by attached single-storey pavilions, with a hipped roof to the pavilion on the right. The main facade is symmetrical and three storeys high, with a basement. It features late 19th-century plate glass windows, a modillion cornice entablature, and a parapet. A chamfered rustication extends up to the ground floor platband, and steps lead to a six-panel door with a narrow overlight, which is set beneath a prostyle porch. The porch has capitals with a restrained acanthus band, and a dentil cornice. The left-hand pavilion incorporates a semicircular arched recess, while the right-hand pavilion has double doors. Decorative area railings are present.

The interior, inspected in 1975, contains extremely ornate niches, including two semi-circular and one flat-headed, with exquisite floral detailing. Montague House was the residence of William Montague Esq. and was sold in August 1794. Between 1845 and his death in 1847, the naturalist Chaning-Pearce, who amassed an extensive fossil collection (now held by the British Museum), built a museum on the property.