Four Gables

Four Gables is a building that was originally a school and is now a dwelling, dating from the early 19th century and restored in the 1930s. The exterior features roughcast over rubble with thatched roofs topped with clay ridge tiles. The main block has half-hipped gable ends and a brick stack located between the first and second bays on the right side. The site slopes down to the south, with the entrance on the north front accessed through an outshot to the central block, flanked by setback wings.

The north front has one and a half storeys with single-storey wings, arranged in a 1:4:1 bay pattern. The outer bays are gable fronted and feature tall leaded mullioned and transomed windows with glazed gable tops, along with a bell above the right-hand window. The main block has smaller windows that rise from the eaves line, and the ground floor is characterized by a random rubble wall that rises to four finials and a central gabled entrance that conceals the outshot. There are two pointed arch head windows and a central gabled porch with a shaped head.

On the left return, there is a similar window in the gable end, along with a ground floor canted bay window featuring astragal leading. The garden front has two-bay gable fronted wings flanking the main block, which includes two dormers. There are 20th-century porches in the penultimate bays, with a glazed door in the left end bay. The outline of a former verandah that once extended across the entire facade is still visible. The interior has not been seen, but the windows are similar to those in Hedges, another property in Clayhanger. This building presents an unusual and attractive design in the picturesque tradition. The clay ridge tiles were added in the late 1970s when the roof was rethatched.