Chalcot House

Country house, dating from the early 18th century, with elements of a late 17th-century house and later additions and alterations made in the late 18th century and 1872 by J.P. St Aubyn for the Phipps family. Constructed of Flemish bond brick with stone dressings, it has a stone slate hipped roof and brick stacks. The south front has three stories and five bays. The central doorway features a half-glazed door with Ionic columns and a pediment, set within a channelled, rusticated surround that includes a lion's mask. Flanking the door are two 12-pane sashes with alternate segmental and triangular pediments over an entablature and Ionic plasterwork. The first floor has two 12-pane sashes framing a central semi-circular niche containing an urn, with a matching arrangement of pediments above an entablature and Corinthian pilasters. Six-pane sashes are placed on the second floor, flanked by a central panel with swags and side panels also with swags. Egg and dart capitals adorn the pilasters, with an entablature below a plain blocking course. The right return has a 12-pane sash and three large sashes, all with flat arches and keystones. Cast-iron rainwater heads bear the initials CPPHM and the date 1872, and a plat band runs along the first floor. The rear elevation features five sashes and a blocking course. Remnants of a truncated 19th-century service wing remain to the right; a former dining room now serves as a kitchen and has a large, half-octagonal front with plate glass sashes. The left return presents two sashes on the ground and first floors, and two six-pane sashes on the second floor. A two-story 19th-century range attached to the left includes a canted bay window to the drawing room with French windows, and plate glass sashes on the first floor. The rear was remodelled in the 1970s, incorporating a half-octagonal porch with pilasters and the heraldic arms of the Phipps family, alongside a central gabled wing with a cornice. The interior was extensively refitted during alterations in 1871, featuring a rear stair hall with stone stairs and a cast-iron balustrade, along with joinery and fireplaces throughout the house. A late 18th-century staircase from the first floor to the attics is retained, with turned balusters and a moulded mahogany handrail. A late 17th-century roof truss is said to be incorporated within an attic partition wall. Extensive renovations in the 1970s by Pentagram Design Partnership included the demolition of the rambling 1870s service wing.