Orchard House

Orchard House, Claverton

A former estate cottage or lodge built by the Claverton Estate in the mid-nineteenth century, Orchard House is constructed of coarsed stone rubble with freestone dressing. The roof is tiled and pitched, featuring four evenly spaced ashlar chimney stacks with decorative Tudor style shafts—two positioned at either gable end and two on the ridge.

The two-storey building follows a rectangular plan, seven bays in length and single depth. A kitchen and former scullery were added at the south end in the early 1930s. The symmetrical front elevation to the east comprises a central entrance bay flanked by two projecting decorative gables, each flanked by two bays with narrow half dormers. The gables and dormers feature decorative stone finials. Windows consist of two and three-light casement windows with hood moulds above; those on the projecting gables at first floor level are framed by decorative pointed arches.

The rear elevation is five bays wide, with four bays featuring narrow dormers similar to those at the front, and a gabled return to the far right. Fenestration is scattered, consisting of two and three-light casement windows with hood moulds. To the right is an entrance with a decorative Tudor style wooden door. To the left stands a small flat-roofed single-storey extension added in the early 1930s as a toilet, with a door inserted in the late twentieth century (a copy of the original door) creating another entrance. The north gable end displays a blind window at first floor level. The south gable end features a wooden lean-to conservatory on coarsed rubble stone footings, a late twentieth-century reconstruction of a conservatory that stood here in the early 1930s.

Internally, the central hall features a stone mullion front door and window surrounds. Stairs were inserted in the early 1930s, replacing original nineteenth-century stairs originally positioned in the northern part of the building. The decorative timber newel posts and handrail appear to be of nineteenth-century date and may derive from the original stairs. Ground floor rooms have chamfered stone mullion windows. The dining room contains a plain Tudor style fire surround, while the sitting room features a restrained Art Deco style fireplace. First floor bedrooms are situated along a narrow corridor running along the rear of the house.

Originally built as an estate cottage or lodge by the Claverton Estate in the mid-nineteenth century, Orchard House became the New Rectory in the early 1920s, occupied by Reverend Henry Scott-White. In the early 1930s the rectory was sold to HP Wilson and underwent alterations and extensions to a design by AJ Cambell-Cooper, an architect and surveyor based in Newbury. It has since been used as a private dwelling.

The house displays good quality architectural detailing in the Tudor style. Its early 1930s alterations and extension are both competent and sensitive, adding to the visual interest of the building. Orchard House forms an interesting group with the adjacent Grade II listed Tower House and Farleigh Cottage, a pair of contemporary estate cottages displaying very similar architectural style and detailing. Together they stand along the eastern approach to Claverton Manor, forming part of the setting of the Grade II registered park.