Bowden Derra

Bowden Derra is a house built in 1866, now used as a home for people with learning disabilities. It is constructed from snecked Polyphant and local stone, with a steeply pitched slate roof and gable ends. The building has lateral, axial, and end stacks of snecked stone.

The house has an overall 'L' shaped plan. The main entrance is located to the left of the centre of the front elevation and is accessed through a single-storey porch with a four-centred arch and datestone in the spandrels. A projecting stack is placed to the left of the porch, and a three-light mullion and transom window illuminates the entrance hall to the right. Further windows to the front feature four-centred relieving arches, mullions, and transoms. A wing to the front right contains a second entrance and stair hall, with service rooms located to the right of that. A parallel range to the rear provides principal rooms overlooking the garden.

The architectural style is High Victorian Gothic. The front elevation is asymmetrical, and the wing to the front right features an asymmetrically placed projecting stack and a bellcote on the ridge. The garden front is more regular, with gable ends to cross wings set slightly forward. The garden itself has steep 19th-century terraces, partially rebuilt in the 20th century.

Inside, original carpentry and joinery remain, including the stair, doors, doorframes, chamfered two-centred Polyphant stone arches in the corridors, and some chimney-pieces. The interior was only partially inspected.