Staithcote

Staithcote

One of a distinctive group of chalets found along the waterways of the Broads. Staithcote was built in 1911 as a boat house and extended by 1913 with the addition of a chalet above.

The building is timber-framed with weatherboarded walls to the boat house, rendered and painted walls to the chalet, and a half-hipped roof thatched with Norfolk reed. It is rectangular on plan, aligned north to south, and comprises a shallow boat house which straddles a narrow dyke connecting the River Bure on its north side to Wroxham Broad on its south side, over which is a one-and-a-half storey chalet.

The building is in a cottage orné style. Its windows are mainly timber-framed casements with square-leaded cames unless stated otherwise, and the thatched roof has deep overhanging eaves and an elaborately patterned block ridge.

The principal elevation, which faces south across Wroxham Broad, has a flat-headed opening to the boat house, above which the chalet has a large picture window with sliding central casements and top lights, all with plain glass and of probable mid-20th century date.

On the east side, at the left-hand end, there is a gabled and weatherboarded porch accessed from the south side by a short flight of wooden steps which rise to a small decked area, all enclosed by a timber balustrade with stick balusters and moulded handrails. The porch itself has half-glazed double-leaf doors and fixed-light windows divided by horizontal glazing bars on its north, south and east sides. Enclosed within the porch is a half-glazed front door with obscured Pilkington 'Shiplyte' glass. To the right-hand side of the porch, at the centre of the façade, there is a two-light casement, and at the right-hand end there is a canted bay with two-light casements to each face. Above, the attic has a shallow eyebrow dormer with a three-light casement at its southern end.

The north side of the building has a flat-headed opening to the boat house, above which the chalet has a square bay at the centre with a four-light casement on the south face and single-light casements to the returns.

On the west side, from left to right, there is a two-light casement with plain glazing, a single-light casement and two shallower two-light casements. To the attic there is a shallow eyebrow dormer with a three-light casement at its southern end.

The interior comprises an L-shaped living room with the horizontal section (south end) originally a veranda until merged with the living accommodation in the mid-20th century. It retains its original rendered walling above early-21st century vertical timber boarded walls along with exposed timber rafters and woven water reed fleeking in a basket weave pattern. The entire east wall of the living room is lined with vertical timber boarding, while the remaining walls and ceiling are plain plastered and painted, the walls also with moulded picture rails and skirting boards. At the north end is a straight-flight floating staircase with open rises, probably installed in the 1960s.

From the living room three identical timber doors give access to the kitchen on the east side, a bathroom on the left-hand side of the staircase and a bedroom on the right-hand side of the staircase. All are of an Arts and Crafts style plank door with obscured glazed upper sections with square-leaded cames and upright door handles with curved thumb plates with decorative ends fixed to decorative back plates, all within moulded architraves.

The kitchen has early-21st century vertical timber boarded walls throughout along with an Arts and Crafts style plank door to a pantry and a large opening to the living room on its south side. The bedroom has plain plastered and painted walls and ceiling along with moulded skirting boards and picture rails.

The attic has two bedrooms, both with canted doorways with half-glazed plank doors with obscured Pilkington 'Shiplyte' glass, decorative upright door handles with curved thumb plates screwed directly to the door, and moulded architraves. The walls and ceilings of the two bedrooms are mainly lined with mid and late-20th century vertical and horizontal timber boarding respectively, with the southern bedroom also having a two-light casement with moulded architrave overlooking the living room, the former veranda.

All the casement windows have curved catches and spiral-ended stays.