Towerhirst

Towerhirst is a house built between 1891 and 1892 by HCM Hirst. It is constructed from snecked Pennant rubble with limestone and brick dressings, featuring stone gable and ridge stacks and a slate hipped roof. The building has a double-depth plan and is designed in a Free Gothic style, extending over three storeys, a basement, and an attic, with a 3-window front.

The asymmetrical front elevation is characterised by a projecting right-hand bay. Floors are defined by drips and courses of brick, culminating in a cornice featuring Tudor flowers and a crenellated parapet. A flight of steps leads to a central doorway with a boarded door, a four-centred arched overlight, and tall margin lights, all sheltered by a small gabled canopy. A canted ground-floor oriel on the left-hand side features cross windows and a steeply slated roof, while above are diaper brick patterns to the first and second floors. The right-hand bay has three-light mullion and transom windows in a canted bay with a parapet on the ground floor; above, these windows lack transoms. To the right of this is a four-centred carriage arch beneath a deep cornice and a small oriel with a four-light mullion window and parapet. The left return side features diaper brick patterns and a chimney stack with a blind pointed panel. The rear of the house includes a half-timbered octagonal turret and a contemporary, single-storey wing with crenellations.

The interior features a central hall with a dogleg staircase adorned with stick and turned balusters, and cornices decorated with Tudor flowers. Subsidiary features include cast-iron balusters along the steps leading to the entrance. The steps leading to the doorway have cast-iron balusters. Towerhirst represents a fine example of domestic architecture in the Free Gothic style.