Battlefields House

Battlefields House

House, now converted into 8 flats. Built in 1802 by Charles Harcourt Masters, with later 19th-century alterations to the rear and 20th-century alterations. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar and rubble with stone dressings and slate roofs.

The design is Picturesque asymmetrical Gothic in style. The main structure comprises a central three-storey block with a two-storey wing to the right and a polygonal two-storey block to the left.

The central block is three windows wide and features a central embattled porch with octagonal turrets at the corners. The porch has double doors with two pointed arched lights and a pointed arched moulded head. Cross windows flank the porch on either side, with pointed arches and Y tracery in the upper sections. A string course continues over the door, with a cornice and parapet above.

A projecting single-storey block extends to the left, with paired windows having pointed arched lights and hood moulds with angled stops, and a lancet with two quatrefoils and hood mould above. The first floor has a central triple window with a wider central light, hood mould, and lancets on either side. The second floor similarly has a central triple window with a taller central light, stopped hood mould, and lancets to each side. Two polygonal turrets rise from ground floor level, decorated with blind lancets and embattled parapets with trefoil-headed recesses in the merlons. A cornice with gargoyles and embattled parapet caps this section.

The wing to the right contains three windows: cross windows at first floor level, with a single light in a splayed reveal to the left, and a ground-floor window with pointed arch, moulded architrave, and hood mould with angled stops.

The polygonal block features a four-light oriel set at the corner on large corbels. The ground floor to the left has two blind round-headed arches with a central square window, while the first floor has a cross window. A string course continues around the base of the oriel, topped by a cornice and embattled parapet with stepped merlons.

The left return has two varied windows, including two cross windows at first-floor level with depressed four-centred arched heads, jamb shafts with foliate capitals, and carved cills bearing Latin mottoes including "nemo me impune acessit". A moulded cornice and embattled parapet with a corner turret to the left complete this elevation.

The right return has three varied windows, including a three-light oriel with stepped base, each light having two windows with four-centred arched heads. A cornice and pierced parapet finish this section, with a pointed arched window to the ground floor having a hood mould with angled stops.

The rear elevation has a central projecting angled bay rising through three storeys, with three French windows featuring pointed arches and tracery in the upper sections. A frieze with carved flowers and string runs above. The first floor has four cross windows with dentilled transoms and a string course. The second floor displays a foliate frieze and an open balcony with a central segmental-headed arch flanked by two round-headed arches. The shafts feature foliate capitals with moulded architraves, carved spandrels and frieze. A cornice and parapet with pierced quatrefoils crown the elevation, with weathered turrets at each side. A twenty-first-century greenhouse stands to the left of the rear elevation. All windows visible on the facade are now fitted with late 20th-century metal frames.

Interior: The large entrance hall contains two doors with pointed segmental arches and hollow-chamfered jamb shafts. A pointed arched opening to the rear features cast iron Gothic tracery. Blocked openings on either side have triple jamb shafts with stiff-leaf capitals and a quatrefoil and diamond frieze. A curved open-string staircase rises to the second floor at the rear, featuring a foliate moulded string, Gothic cast iron balusters, and a wreathed brass handrail, with an oval lantern above.