Northdown Hall (Part Of Stella Maris School)

Northdown Hall, now part of Stella Maris School, is a large house dating from the early 19th century. It is constructed of solid rendered walls with a hipped slate roof and rendered chimneys. The building follows a double-depth plan, with three rooms wide and a rear right service wing. The upper floor of the front range has four rooms, alongside a further room in the rear range to the left of the staircase. The house has two storeys and a cellar, presenting a four-window facade facing north-east, with the two central windows set within a slight projection. The windows are barred sashes; those on the ground floor have 6 over 9 panes, while those above have 6 over 6 panes. A small top entablature is topped by a parapet. Matching sashes are found in the upper-storey window of the left gable wall, and several others are present in the rear wall, including a back stairs window with 12 over 12 panes.

The interior is well-preserved. A geometrical main staircase features scrolled wrought-iron balusters on both sides, mahogany handrails with voluted ends and short iron lamp standards. Moulded nosings to the treads and carved step-ends are also present. The compartmented areas have 6-panelled doors with panelled reveals within reeded architraves. Both floors include enriched cornices and ceiling bands. The upper floor’s central oval is decorated with medallions and a leaved chandelier boss.

The three front ground-floor rooms have panelled shutters and reeded architraves to the windows. The middle and left-hand rooms have enriched cornices, ceiling bands, and leaved chandelier bosses. Two white marble chimneypieces are present; the one on the left has vine tendrils and a central plaque displaying figures on the lintel, supported by caryatids. The central room has a surround carved with flowers and scrolls, while the right-hand room is plainer, with only a moulded cornice. Upper-storey rooms feature moulded cornices, panelled shutters, and simpler marble chimneypieces.

A wooden back staircase has a narrow open well, cut strings, thin square balusters, and a handrail that ramps up over column-newels. It is believed that Charles Kingsley wrote ‘Westward Ho!’ while he was tenant of Northdown Hall in 1854-5.