The Cliff

The Cliff is a house dating from circa 1830, with significant additions and alterations made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The main house is constructed of brick and stuccoed, with a gable-ended roof (probably slate) concealed by parapets and brick stacks at the gable ends.

The original circa 1830 house is two storeys and attic with a three-window front. It follows a double-depth plan with two principal front rooms, a central entrance hall, and probably service rooms at the rear. The front elevation has been considerably altered in circa the early 20th century with the addition of two-storey square bay windows flanking a central doorway. This doorway comprises a glazed door with a rectangular fanlight and a two-light mullion-transom window above. The high parapet with a moulded cornice conceals two flat-roof dormer windows with casement windows complete with glazing bars. The parapets at the gable ends are stepped, and there is a small round-headed attic window in the left-hand gable end.

Set back on the left-hand side is a late 19th-century pavilion in Swiss chalet style, two storeys high, with applied timber framing and stuccoed finish. It features a sprocketed gabled roof with tile-hung gables. The left-hand side has a similarly tile-hung projecting gable with an oriel window containing lattice glazing. An external flight of wooden stairs on the front leads to the first-floor doorway, which has a canopy above.

On the right-hand side is Dr Brushfield's single-storey library wing, added in 1882. It is stuccoed with a parapet and a moulded cornice that breaks forward over a slightly advanced centrepiece. This centrepiece contains a tripartite Gothic window with a bracketed cill and hood-mould. The rounded right-hand corner of the library is recessed and contains a round-headed niche with a small blind quatrefoil above. The moulded cornice continues around the corner into the right elevation and around a rectangular bay projecting across the rear corner; this bay has a bowed window on its front and a two-centred arch doorway on its left side. A roof lantern lights the library interior.

The interior of the library is particularly notable. It is top-lit from a large square lantern. The ornamental wooden panelled ceiling features pendants, bosses, and small arch braces supported on panelled piers. A fine tiled cast-iron chimneypiece decorated with classical motifs and a cast-iron grate are present. The windows retain attractive stained glass in geometric patterns and armorial bearings. Although the bookcases have been removed, the interior remains a most complete example of late 19th-century design.

The Cliff served as the residence of Dr T N Brushfield from 1882 to 1910. Brushfield was an antiquarian and notable local historian, an authority on Sir Walter Raleigh, and the third largest contributor to the Oxford Dictionary. The library was constructed to accommodate his collection of over 10,000 books and manuscripts. The construction was carried out by Jacob Cowd, builder, and William Keslake, carpenter. The house is also said to have been a private school in the 19th century (presumably before 1882) called the Academy for the Sons of Civil Servants in India.

The interiors of the pavilion and the main house were not inspected and may well contain features of interest.