Steepleton Manor With Attached Courtyard Walls And Gates

Steepleson Manor, now a retirement home, was built in 1870 by T.H. Wyatt for W.G. Lambert. The manor is constructed of rock-faced Portland stone with dressings of Ham stone used for windows, doors, strings, buttresses and finials. The roofs are tiled and slated, with Portland and Ham stone stacks positioned along the ridges and valleys. It is an H-plan house with low, single-storey service ranges extending from the west end. The main front (north) elevation, with seven bays, presents a slightly asymmetrical appearance. Windows are predominantly two and three-light designs, featuring ovolo-moulded mullions and straight-chamfered jambs. Ground floor windows are cross-transomed, and the wooden sashes largely contain plate glass, although a coloured quarry design in rectangular leading is located immediately to the right of the front door. Gabled dormers, each with two-light mullions and stone finials, are present in the attic space. A two-storey porch is centrally positioned, with buttresses and barley-sugar finials. A transomed mullion window illuminates the first floor of the porch. The entrance features a pointed arch within a square head, exhibiting deep moulded jambs and a decorative label with foliage. The double-leaf door has a pointed head and four recessed panels, dating to the 19th century. A shield of arms is positioned above the door, with further stone shields displayed in the top left and top right gables. The east elevation showcases two large canted bays on the ground floor, separated by a French window. Inscriptions on the parapets of these bays read "W G L HOC ERAT IN VOTIS 1870" and "SERVATA FIDES CINERI," accompanied by shields of arms. The south elevation is more asymmetrical, incorporating a large canted bay on the ground floor to the left, a large, double-transomed mullioned staircase window at the centre, and a canted oriel window extending from the first floor to the right, supported by a buttress and heavily moulded corbelling. Single sashes are employed on either side of the oriel, separated by a high transom. A single-storey range of service rooms, constructed with matching masonry and slate roofs, extends from the south side, featuring widely spaced, small single and double sashes and three-plank doors.

The interior includes a large hall accessed through two round arches supported by Tuscan columns, leading to the stairwell. Original doors and window shutters are retained throughout. The upper landing features elliptical arches carried on scroll corbels. Plaster cornices decorated with palmettes and other foliage adorn the ground floor rooms. Attached to the front are courtyard walls forming a rectangular enclosure along the roadside, constructed of rock-faced stone with chamfered coping. Square stone piers topped with ball finials are located on the east and west sides. The front wall is low, featuring continuous stone arcading above. Gibbsian stone piers with moulded cornices and gadrooned cases are present, and original iron gates provide access.