Coach House, Stable Yard And Associated Cottages 118 And 119

MATERIALS: stone, red brick and slate roofs.

PLAN: rectangular stable yard with stable ranges forming north, west and south sides and the coach house forming the east range. Pair of semi-detached cottages immediately adjacent to the south-west corner of the stable yard; cottages to the east and outbuildings and yards to the rear (west).

STABLE YARD: the stable yard is surrounded on its north, west and south sides by the stables or former stables, and on its east side by the coach house range. The stables are single storey brick buildings with hipped slate roofs which has louvered roof vents with decorative lead-work. The stables are largely in red brick Flemish Bond, but with some blue bricks used, also stone springers and key stones to the arches in the stable yard and an external south wall which is of several phases including some stone courses. The south and west ranges were converted to garages in the late C20 with some rebuilding of the brick walls and the insertion of large plank double-doors into the former openings. The north range is as built with its interior still in use for stabling. This has a stone pavier floor and retains its original timber and iron stalls. Some original windows and doors survive, particularly in the external elevations and the north range, and are multi-paned timber sashes and half-glazed doors all with red brick dressings.

COACH HOUSE: the coach house range is of two-and-a-half storeys with lower end bays of one-and-a-half storeys. It is stone-built with pitched slate roofs. The stonework is of a good quality with the blocks appearing to be graduated such that they are smaller at the gable than at ground level. The upper floors have roof dormers, those to the end bays are louvered, and there is a polygonal clock tower above the central carriage arch. This building was not inspected internally as it has largely been converted to flats. On the west gable of the central bay is a date stone '1876' under a drip mould.

COTTAGES 118 & 119: cottages 118 and 119 are semi-detached and are located immediately south-west of the stable yard. They are of two-and-a half storeys, stone built with red brick dressings and exaggerated chimneys and have pitched tiled roofs. Windows are timber casements. The cottages are not mirror images in plan. No 119 is entered from the south and 118 from the east; both have gabled porches. However, their outbuildings to the rear (west) are mirror images in plan. Although not inspected internally, sales particulars indicate that they are three-bedroom cottages each with a kitchen and sitting room on the ground floor.

SOURCES: English Heritage, Register Entry for Cowdray House and Park, Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest, (1982) Website of the Cowdray Heritage Trust including a Cowdray timeline at www.cowdray.org.uk [accessed 25 Oct 2010]