Darley House And Attached Railings Number 25 And Attached Railings

Darley House and attached railings at number 25, along with the railings, are a pair of semi-detached villas, now used as a house and nursery school. They were built around 1820 to 1850 and have undergone later alterations. The villas are constructed with stucco over brick and have hipped slate roofs.

The villas are two storeys high with a basement, and feature five windows on the first floor, including a central blind window. There’s a service range at the rear. The stucco detailing includes end pilasters with recessed panels. The ground floor windows are set in taller, wider recesses with a round arch and an incised Greek key design. A tooled band marks the first floor. The original windows are mostly 6/6 sashes, with the ground floor windows being taller. The basement windows have 3/6 sashes, and there are modern glazed doors.

The right return side has a breakforward containing an entrance with a six-panel part-glazed door and overlight with margin lights. The left return side, facing Carlton Street, has four first-floor windows, with the left end being blind. The other first-floor windows are 6/6 sashes. The three-window range on the right has end pilasters and a central breakforward with a six-panel door (upper panels raised and fielded, lower panels flush) and a tooled surround.

Inside, original joinery and plasterwork has been preserved. The first floor has four window boxes with a scrolled lozenge motif, and another similar window box on the return side. The railings to the steps also feature this motif. The poet Adam Lindsey Gordon (1833-70) resided at number 25.