Upton Manor Upton Manor Wing

Upton Manor Wing

A detached house, now subdivided, dating from the early to mid-19th century. The building features solid rendered walls beneath a hipped slate roof, with a large flat-roofed, slate-hung addition on top. Rendered and painted brick chimneys rise from the left and right side walls respectively, while a cluster of three tall painted brick chimneys sits on the service wing.

The house is arranged to a square double-depth plan with two storeys. The main building is three windows wide, with a large stair hall occupying most of the front and a small room to its left on the ground floor. Two rooms of similar proportions sit at the rear, served by a long, low service wing to the right.

The front elevation features a segmental-headed centre doorway with an inset doorcase of imported character, containing plain Doric columns with entasis and 20 bases, an entablature with segmental pediment incorporating a fanlight with radial bars. The half-glazed 19th-century door has two moulded panels below and four glazed panes with margin panes above. Ground-storey windows have segmental arches with patterned architraves set in segmental-headed recesses, stretching to ground level, with 6 over 9 panes and margin panes, the upper sashes having additional panes shaped to match the window heads. Upper-storey windows are flat-headed and set in shallow flat-headed recesses, with 3-paned sashes and margin panes. A wooden trellised verandah (probably rebuilt in the early 20th century) fronts the ground storey, featuring an ogee profile roof with artificial shaped slates and a floor of coloured patterned tiles.

The upper-storey sill band displays incised decoration matching the ground-storey architraves. Deep, flat eaves cornices with brackets complete the front elevation. The left side wall features a large blind segmental-headed panel at ground storey, now partly obscured by a 20th-century garage with a small glazed door pierced into it. A wide oblong panel occupies the upper storey, its lower left corner cut into by an inserted window sill band and eaves cornice matching the front elevation. The rear (garden) elevation mirrors the front elevation but substitutes a window for the doorway. The service wing is plain, though its left-hand end has 3-paned French windows with margin panes and a window above with 3-paned sashes with margin panes. Other windows in the service wing are mostly wood casements.

Interior: The stair hall contains a mahogany geometric staircase with a narrow open well, square lightly moulded balusters, column-newels, shaped and carved stop ends, and moulded nosings to treads. The left half of the hall is paved with stone slabs and features a moulded cornice, panelled shutters and 6-panelled doors, the shutters and some doors having raised moulding. A 19th or 20th-century carved wood chimneypiece is present. The three main ground-floor rooms all have similar doors, shutters and cornices. The left front room has a chimneypiece with imitation marbling, brought from another house in the late 20th century. The two rear rooms contain 19th or 20th-century carved wood chimneypieces. The left-hand ground-floor wing room has an early 19th-century moulded wood chimneypiece with small round panels in the top corners. The upper floor is almost entirely fitted out with re-used raised-and-fielded, 1-fillet ovolo-moulded panelling and bolection-moulded door frames.

Historical context: In 1850, this was Upton Lodge, the seat of G.H. Cutler Esq., when iron ore was being mined on the estate. According to Lysons in 1822, it was the Manor of Upton, the property and residence of George Cutler Esq., having been bought by Montague Booth Esq. and largely rebuilt.

The gate piers at the entrance to the drive are separately listed.