Portland House

Portland House is a house constructed in 1935 by Lord Gerald Wellesley and Trenwith Wills, for Geoffrey Henry Bushby, and built by Turner and Payne of London. It is built of whitewashed rendered walls with a Roman tile hipped roof and deep eaves. The house has two rendered lateral chimneys with tapered stacks and shaped set-offs.

The house is situated on a sloping site and comprises two single-storey ranges with terraces in front. The upper range is set back from the lower range and accessed from the rear at a higher ground level. The main staircase descends from the entrance doorway to the principal rooms, flanked by loggias on the projecting lower ground level terrace. The upper range contains bedrooms that give onto a terrace above the main rooms.

The architectural style is Spanish/Mediterranean. The projecting lower range has a south front of 1:1:7:1:1 bays, featuring metal casements and French casements with round heads and leaded panes. A central integral porch and loggias with round arches and stone Doric columns in antis are present, with returns of the loggias each displaying a three-bay arcade, returning at either end by shaped flanking walls. A balustrade runs along the terrace above, and the front terrace is constructed with Roman tiles in fish scale pattern panels. A stone tablet inscribed with the names of the patron, architects and builder is located on the left side of the upper range. The north entrance front features brick steps leading to a sunken entrance with fielded panel double doors, a moulded architrave with a keyblock, flanking lamps, and circular windows. A projecting service wing is located on the left side; it has a blind inner elevation and casements and a lateral stack on the outer side.

The interior remains intact and complete, featuring original features such as panelled doors with fittings, moulded architraves, and cupboards. Other original elements include chimneypieces, moulded ceiling cornices, kitchen and bathroom fittings and tiles, floral tile risers and skirting to a broad straight main staircase, and an ornate grille to the letter-box.

Portland House represents a complete and well-designed example of a 1930s Mediterranean villa style house, designed by an eminent architectural partnership.