Avonbrook House

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 7 July 2023 to amend the name and address, and to reformat the text to current standards

SO8932 859-1/6/100

TEWKESBURY CHURCH STREET (South side) No.24 Avonbrook House

(Formerly listed as No.24 Avonbrook House (Tewkesbury High School))

27/07/73

GV II

Large detached house, former girls' school. Late C18. The architect possibly George Byfield, designer of Webber House (qv), on stylistic grounds. Flemish bond brickwork, tile roof, brick stacks.

PLAN: a square block with symmetrical front to central staircase, facing away from street; on entrance side an attached one-storey entrance lobby with door at right end.

EXTERIOR: the garden front is three storeys and basement, five-windowed. Nine above 12-paned sashes with very narrow glazing bars, and brought down almost to floor level at ground floor, all to fine cambered brick voussoirs and stone cills, with central bay recessed in full-height brick arch. Central pair of part-glazed doors with diamond pattern bars to stone Doric doorcase with entablature.

Ground and first floors covered by early C19 decorative wrought- and cast-iron balcony to wood slat deck and lead tent hood; moulded stone cornice, blocking and coped parapet. All raised on terrace approached by 6+1 stone steps with nosings. Right (North) flank brick to parapet, and two string courses with lofty arched staircase sash and one 12-pane sash.

Back, entry side, is three-windowed with nine above 12-pane sashes, central bay recessed as front; single-storey addition has at right end on five stone steps a four-panel C18 door, under a light panelled splayed porch with open sides. To the right of this porch a six-panel fielded door in moulded architrave and under a pulvinated frieze with moulded cornice. The South flank is partly concealed by later additions, and has external steel escape stair attached.

INTERIOR: entrance hall on square stone flags set diagonally, various panelled doors in reeded doorcases with rosettes, flat cornice with rosettes at approx 300mm centres on low relief leaf-scroll frieze. Grand stone stair in semicircular open well has stick balusters to mahogany wreathed and swept handrail returned at top landing to clear a doorcase. Upper hall with detail as below formerly ran full depth of house, now partitioned off near garden end.

Ground-floor library has three elliptical-headed recesses to architraves and responds, and fireplace in white and grey marble. Room above has white marble fireplace with central panel in high relief. Secondary stair (North West corner) in timber, narrow open-well winder to open scrolled string and stick balustrade, through both floors; under this the basement stair is tight winder with brick treads to concrete nosings (formerly wood). Brick basement floor, some brick vaulting.

A grand house, somewhat compromised by additions, but retaining most of the original detail in good condition.

Listing NGR: SO8920332562