The Hermitage And Retreat And Attached Arch And South Garden Wall

The Hermitage and Retreat, along with the attached arch and south garden wall, is a house that has been converted into two dwellings. It dates from the early 18th century and was remodeled around 1850. The building is constructed from coursed limestone rubble with a plinth made of Ham Hill stone. It features stepped stone coping with moulded kneelers, quoins, and dressings, and has a slate roof with brick stacks at the gable ends and a tall lateral stack on the rear left side. The original layout was likely a three-unit plan.

The exterior is two storeys high, with attics and a basement. The south facade of The Hermitage, which is on the left, has a symmetrical three-window arrangement. There are flat gauged arches over 20th-century horned 8/8-pane sashes in forward frames, flanking a 6/6-pane sash under a stone lintel on the first floor, and a six-panel door beneath a segmental hood supported by wrought-iron brackets. The street facade, which is the left return, features mid-19th-century horned 8/8-pane sashes under stone lintels, with a segmental-arched opening leading to the basement. The corners of the ground floor on the street front are rounded. The Retreat, located on the right, has timber lintels on the north side and flat gauged arches on the garden facade, all above 20th-century windows.

Inside The Hermitage, the staircase and mouldings reflect a mid-19th-century style, and there are six-panel doors. The basement has stone flagging, and the roof structure is A-frame with trenched purlins, pegged joints, and a plate at the apex with a ridge-in-notch. The interior of The Retreat has been altered.

Attached to the south-west corner is a semi-circular arch with reeded imposts, a beaded edge, and a 20th-century iron gate. The garden to the south is enclosed by a high rubblestone wall with Ham Hill stone coping, approximately 45 meters long along the street, featuring two garages and a tall gate pier with a pyramidal cap at the corner. The rear of the garden is enclosed by about 30 meters of wall that has seven large brick buttresses, and approximately 25 meters of wall connects to The Retreat.