Nos. 27-32 (consec) Greenwich

Nos. 27-32 (consecutive), Greenwich

Nos. 27 and 28

A pair of estate cottages in domestic Gothic style, dated 1868, built for the Marquess of Westminster following the construction of his new mansion Fonthill Abbey, designed by William Burn in 1846-52. An outbuilding stands to the rear.

The building has a limestone ashlar front with dressed returns and vermiculated rustication to the quoins. The rear is snecked stone. The pitched clay tiled roof, believed to replace an earlier thatched roof, has a central red brick ridge stack. Both front and rear elevations feature dentilled timber eaves with decorative bargeboards to the gable ends.

The two back-to-back cottages are planned with reversed layouts, each two bays wide. At ground floor, each originally had a hallway, now opened to create a larger front room. The front doors are now disused. A kitchen to the rear gives access to stairs leading to three rooms at first floor level.

Two storeys in height. The main south front has entrances at the far left and right, each with a porch of pitched tiled roof and decorative timber bargeboards resting on timber posts set on stone footings. At No. 28 these posts survive; at No. 27 the porch is now closed off in limestone ashlar with a replacement door. Double casement windows, two at ground floor and four at first floor, all feature decorative cast-iron octagonal glazing.

The rear elevation is identical in arrangement of doors and windows but much plainer. Timber double casement windows with glazing bars are present, along with a planked door at No. 27; the door at No. 28 is a later replacement.

The east gable end has two single casement windows at ground floor with a double casement stair window above, all with decorative cast-iron octagonal glazing. The west gable end is identical in arrangement, though all windows have been replaced with plastic casements, and the opening to the right at ground floor has been widened.

Internally, the stairs at No. 27 survive with doors providing access from the kitchen. No. 28 retains its stairs and nineteenth-century fireplaces with grates to both floors, some flanked by round-arched alcoves. The roof could not be inspected, but the owner confirmed that roof timbers, including parts of the former thatched covering, survive.

A late nineteenth-century outbuilding of red brick stands approximately 8 metres north of the cottages. It has a pitched tiled roof with plain timber bargeboards to the gable ends and serves both cottages. The south front features three planked doors alternating with three triple-paned single casement windows. The rear has one triple-paned single casement window to the left and an off-centre small point-arched opening; to the right are full-height double planked doors. The west gable end has a circular fixed light off-centre to the left, and the east gable end has a round-arched niche. The interior was not inspected.

Nos. 29 and 30

A pair of estate cottages in domestic Gothic style, identical in design to Nos. 31 and 32. They were built sometime between 1868 and 1887 for the Marquess of Westminster following the construction of his new mansion Fonthill Abbey, designed by William Burn in 1846-52.

The cottages are clad in red brick faced with limestone ashlar, featuring vermiculated rustication to the quoins and decorative kneelers to the gables. The pitched tiled roof, believed to replace an earlier thatched roof, has timber dentilled eaves to front and rear with a central red brick ridge stack.

The two back-to-back cottages are two bays wide each. The ground floor to each cottage has been opened into one room, with three rooms at first floor level. Formerly a lean-to was attached to the rear, as at Nos. 31 and 32, but this was recently removed in 2013 and is to be replaced with a two-storey extension built on the same footprint.

Two storeys plus attic. The main south front has entrances to left and right, each with a porch resting on timber posts set on stone footings, with a pitched roof and decorative timber bargeboards. The timber front doors each have three full-height panels. Double casement windows, two at ground floor and four at first floor, all with decorative cast-iron octagonal glazing.

The rear elevation's limestone cladding and windows and doors were recently removed in 2013 as part of works for erecting the new extension, though original openings survive intact.

The windows to the side gables were temporarily removed in 2013. One original window with octagonal glazing remained in situ at the time of inspection. Others, later timber replacements, are to be replaced as part of the proposed building works.

The interior could not be fully inspected. Plaster has been removed from all internal walls. Fireplaces, skirting boards, internal doors, stairs and other fixtures and fittings have been removed throughout. No internal features of note survive.

Nos. 31 and 32

A pair of estate cottages in domestic Gothic style, identical in design to Nos. 29 and 30. They were built sometime between 1868 and 1887 for the Marquess of Westminster following the construction of his new mansion Fonthill Abbey, designed by William Burn in 1846-52.

The cottages are clad in red brick faced with limestone ashlar, featuring vermiculated rustication to the quoins and decorative kneelers to the gables. The pitched tiled roof, believed to replace an earlier thatched roof, has timber dentilled eaves to front and rear with a central red brick ridge stack.

The two back-to-back cottages are two bays wide each, with a two-storey lean-to extending almost the full width of the rear. Two further single-storey twentieth-century flat-roofed extensions are attached to the rear of No. 31, recently re-roofed, abutting the retaining wall and resulting in partial removal of the rear external wall.

Two storeys plus attic. The main south front has entrances to left and right, each with a porch resting on timber posts set on stone footings, with a pitched roof and decorative timber bargeboards. The timber front doors each have three full-height panels. Double casement windows survive, two at ground floor and four at first floor, all with decorative cast-iron octagonal glazing except for one at first floor level which has been replaced.

The rear elevation is set into the bank with the roof of the lean-to abutting the main building just under the eaves.

The west gable end, including its lean-to to the right, retains all its cast-iron octagonal-glazed casement windows and its timber-panelled back door. The windows to the east gable end have all been replaced with timber casements re-using existing openings.

Internally, No. 31 retains its stairs with a store cupboard underneath accessed from the kitchen, carpentry and fire surrounds, those in the upstairs bedrooms including cast-iron grates. In No. 32, the stairs survive, including the store cupboard underneath accessed via the kitchen, but the main stairs are now opened up through removal of the internal wall between the former hall and front living room. The latter retains its fireplace with plain surround and cast-iron grate. The first floor and attic were not inspected.