St Nicholas

This is a 1549 maison dieu, located on the south side of St Nicholas. It is considered the oldest domestic house in Richmond and was built on the site of the 12th-century Benedictine hospital of St Nicholas, utilising the same materials in its construction. The house largely dates to the 17th century, and likely incorporates a smaller building from the 16th century, arranged in an H-shaped plan. It is constructed of uncoursed rubble stone with stone quoins, featuring two storeys, an external chimney stack, a parapet, and a stone slate roof. The front elevation presents one window in each wing and three windows in the centre. The building underwent significant alteration in the 19th century, notably by Ignatius Bonomi after Lord Dundas’s purchase in 1813. During this 'restoration,' windows were enlarged but retained mullions and transoms, bargeboards and a false gable were added to the roof, a stone colonnade with a parapet was erected across the centre front, and a kitchen extension was added to the right side. More recent modern extensions exist at the rear. Moulded and carved stones and corbels are incorporated into the walls of the main buildings. Set into the external wall of the kitchen extension is a 12th or 16th-century gateway, originally from the hospital. It is a semi-circular moulded stone arch with the moulding continuing briefly as a string course on either side. The interior’s original features may not have survived the 19th-century renovations.