Lyngford House

Lyngford House is a house that now serves as a conference centre for the Somerset Area Health Authority. It was built around 1830 and altered in the mid-20th century. The building is constructed of red sandstone random rubble, with a south front featuring a canted bay made of brick, originally rendered, and Bath stone dressings. The entrance bay is ashlar fronted and has a string course, while the slate roof is concealed behind a parapet.

The plan includes a central octagonal stairwell hall and an asymmetrical south front with a full-height canted bay. The west front has a canted bay entrance flanked by diagonally set stair turrets, and there is a service wing to the north. The house is designed in the Tudor Gothick style and has two storeys plus an attic, with all openings featuring Tudor arch heads and Gothick tracery sash windows. The west front includes three-storey parapeted turrets set diagonally to the full-height canted entrance bay, with a 12-pane sash window on the first floor and a ground floor window that has been blocked on the right. On the left, there is a 15-pane sash window with a single-storey two-bay service block beyond. The entrance features a three-bay arcade with central-panelled double doors, and a coat of arms on the first floor centre, which is presumed to belong to John Roy Allen.

The asymmetrical south front has a ratio of 1:3 bays, with nine-pane sash windows on the first floor and two 15-pane sash windows on the ground floor, although some have been altered. The east front has five bays, mainly retaining original fenestration. Inside, the octagonal central staircase hall features a cantilevered stair and Tudor arch headed recesses, but otherwise, the interior is not of special interest. The first recorded occupant was John Roy Allen, who married Miss Watson of Bath in 1831, and the house was likely built for them. Their grandson, Captain Allen, occupied the house in 1908, when photographs show it without render.