East House And Carmelite House And Attached Wall And Railings

This is a house, formerly a Carmelite convent, now divided into flats. It dates from the early 19th century and is located on Chamberlain Street in Wells.

The building is rendered with a false ashlar lining and has a hipped roof covered in Welsh slate, along with rendered brick chimney stacks. It is arranged over two floors with a basement and has 3+3+1+4 bays, with the eastern bays being later additions. The single bay features a projecting gable with a pediment. The main building has a plinth, and 12-pane sash windows set in moulded architraves; the ground-floor windows are larger. The west wing (Carmelite House) has a 6-panel door with a 3-pane fanlight above, set in a moulded architrave. The principal entrance is recessed in a segmental arch with baseless Doric columns on a podium, and contains a pair of wide 3-panel doors with an architrave, flanked by 8-pane sash windows. Above the entrance is a composite sash window of 3+9+3 panes, also in an architrave.

The east wing (East House) has three 16-pane sash windows with plain surrounds on the ground floor, above which are four 20th-century small-pane casement windows. A 20th-century extension provides access to the rear of East House.

The interior has been adapted during conversion into flats, but original features such as the central stairway, entrance hall, doorcases, ceiling cornices, and other details have been retained.

Attached to the left of the main entrance and extending eastwards is a section of 19th-century iron railings with necked rail tops and urn finials. These are set against a lower ashlar stone wall with segmental coping, the wall returning to the northeast corner of the building in random rubble work with thicker coping. A large segmental-arched coach entrance in ashlar stonework is located at this corner, incorporating dressed stonework into the side gable of the adjacent property (No. 9). This entrance enhances the setting of the building and the street scene.