Church House With Integeral Orangery

ST5516SE 5/7

YEOVIL CP CHURCH STREET (South side) Church House with integral orangery

19.3.51

GV II*

Town House, now offices. Circa 1770, Red Brick with Ham stone dressings; Welsh slated roof between coped gables, each termimating in brick chimney stacks. 2-storeys, attic and basement, 5-bay main facade with high plinth with 4-plain basement windows in plain surrounds: rusticated quoins, no string course: strong dentilled cornice with brick parapet crowned by stone urns at corners. central entrance, up segmental sweep of 6 steps, with 6-panel door, the upper 2-panels glazed with margined lights - no fanlight, stone architrave with keystone: above a dentilled pediment on bold console brackets. All windows have 12-pane sashes - first floor square panes, ground floor slightly elongated - set in architraves with central keystones: centre window first floor has segmental head with Gibbsian surround. In centre of roof 2-light timber dormer window behind parapet with pedimented roof. On left-hand side the single storey orangery, not much later than main house, of brick with Welsh slate hipped roof behind parapet. Arcade of 4 semi-circular arched french windows, with recessed panels above each window, below stone cornice and parapet. Internally, the left-hand room on ground floor has good cornice, and possibly the original marble fireplace: the right-hand room has lost its cornice but has another early marble fireplace and a niche. The staircase seems to be mostly original work. To rear of building an arched doorway and door, possibly C17, and some stone windows with leading, one cruciform in pattern. On north side a 2-storey extension in local stone - of uncertain date, this and another building on site were damaged by enemy action c1940. Also on the same site 2 coach houses, (q.v.). Probably the finest remaining town house in Yeovil, this house has played a prominent part in the town's legal affairs, being the home of the Batten Family Solicitors since C18: the Town Courts Mere held in the north annexe until about 20 years ago: during a considerable part of the early C20 the principal resident solicitor was also Town Clerk.

Listing NGR: ST5562016021