Erith House

Erith House is a house built as a convalescent home in 1861 by JW Rowell, and it is still in use by the same Trust. The building is constructed from local grey limestone rubble with red brick dressings and features gabled slate roofs with crested ridge tiles. It is designed in the Gothic Revival style.

The overall plan is H-shaped, with a double-depth main block and crosswings at both ends, and a porch projection on the east side with a stair hall to the north. The exterior is nearly symmetrical, featuring a five-bay entrance front with coped gables on the crosswings. The central two bays are slightly advanced and gabled, with gabletted roofs that have cusped bargeboards and a corbelled stack with multiple stone shafts. The eaves are deep and supported by moulded corbels.

Polychromatic brick bands rise above the main windows, which are stone and fitted with plate glass sashes that include horizontal glazing bars. The left (north) crosswing has a freestone canted bay on the ground floor with a hipped slate roof, tall lancet windows, and blind quatrefoils in the spandrels, with a triple lancet window above on the first floor. The right crosswing features a pair of tall lancets on the ground floor and a pair of crank-headed lancets above, with a quatrefoil window in the center. Other windows are arranged in pairs and threes, with chamfered stone lintels.

The entrance front includes a projecting three-storey porch with a double-chamfered crank-arched doorway and the original timber door. There is a gabled stair projection to the north of the porch, which has cusped bargeboards and a large mullioned and transomed three-light window with trefoil-headed lights and a brick super-ordinate arch.

The interior is very complete, featuring original joinery, chimney pieces, and an open well stair with a vaulted ceiling. Erith House is an interesting building type that is well-preserved and showcases a robust design by a notable local architect.