York Villa And Attached Area Railings

York Villa is a large house dating from the mid to late 18th century, positioned at a right angle to London Road and facing east. It is constructed of limestone ashlar and coursed rubblestone, topped with a hipped slate roof that features two dormers and moulded stacks on the left and rear. The house has a double depth plan, with a large ballroom wing at the rear and a stable range to the left.

The exterior consists of two storeys with attics and a lower ground floor, presenting a symmetrical five-window front. It has a coped parapet, a modillion cornice, a frieze, and a ground floor platband. The windows are primarily 19th-century plate glass sash windows, with 20th-century windows in the basement. A prominent stone doorcase slightly projects, featuring a dentil cornice and Corinthian quarter columns adorned with garlands. The entrance includes a set-back eight-panel door and an overlight with an oval pane at the centre and curved radial glazing bars.

To the left of the main house is a projecting two-storey block, likely a former coach house, which has a blocking course, cornice, and frieze above a recessed rectangular panel. It also features a wide blocked semi-elliptical carriage arch with an impost platband, beneath which is a further recessed square that may have once held double doors. A single-storey rubblestone block is located at the far left.

Although the interior has not been inspected recently, it is known to have previously included carved wooden shutters, an enriched entablature, coved and flat ceilings, and fine decorative plasterwork in the ballroom. The ground floor is accessed by a raised and wide flight of curved steps leading to the door, flanked by Greek 'bamboo' cast iron area railings. York Villa is a significant edge-of-town house and is likely one of the earlier buildings along this section of London Road. The masonry front of the stable exemplifies the crispness and subtlety that later Georgian masons achieved.