Walled Garden, Whitehall

Walled Garden, Whitehall

An 18th-century country house with later additions and alterations, graded B for its architectural and historical significance. The main building is a 2-storey structure with attic storey, comprising a 10-bay rectangular-plan range with a later wing at the rear forming a near L-shaped footprint, and includes a lean-to verandah to one side and various additions to the rear.

The front and side elevations are built of harl-pointed cream sandstone rubble with tooled sandstone dressings. Parts of the rear are rubble and harl-finished. The building features lightly tooled ashlar quoins in places to the east and rubble quoins to the west. Window surrounds are tooled long and short with slightly raised margins, some chamfered in part, with flush cills throughout. A timber-latticed verandah adjoins the building. A separate 2-storey rectangular-plan former gas house stands at the rear, also of rubble construction. The property is set within a rectangular-plan, part-walled garden to the south-west.

The south elevation, which serves as the entrance front, features a stepped 2-leaf timber panelled door offset to the right of centre with a 3-pane fanlight above. The remaining bays contain single windows at both ground and first floors, with piended dormers. To the left of the entrance is a segmental-arched niche with rubble voussoirs at ground level. Two bays feature keystoned windows at ground with a Venetian window above. To the outer left is a keystoned segmental-arched window at ground with two single flanking windows at first floor and a piended dormer above. A verandah adjoins the outer right section.

The east elevation displays a 3-bay arcaded verandah at ground level to the left of centre, blind at first floor. A part-glazed timber panelled door stands in the bay to the right of centre, with a single window to the outer right and pedimented windows breaking the eaves in both bays at first floor.

The north elevation is irregularly fenestrated with various projections and single-storey additions. The west elevation retains the original block to the right with a single window at ground offset to the left of centre, and a 2-storey addition slightly recessed to the outer left containing single windows at both floors.

Windows throughout are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case. The main block is roofed with a slightly bell-cast grey slate piended roof. The rear wing has an M-gabled pitched slate roof. Corniced brick-built ridge and wallhead stacks are present, with a sandstone ashlar wallhead stack to the east. Octagonal cans are fitted throughout, and cast-iron rainwater goods complete the external finishes.

The interior contains a music room with boarded timber floor and notable decorative plasterwork depicting musical instruments and naturalistic scenes. A mutuled cornice, timber panelled door with shouldered surround, skirting board and decorative dado rail are present, along with timber panelled shutters (some broken) and a fireplace with shouldered surround. A timber panelled drawing room features a plain cornice, timber panelled doors and a fireplace with corniced timber surround. A later stair with alternate straight and curvilinear iron uprights and timber handrail is present. The attic contains former servants' quarters with boarded floors, walls and ceilings, retaining original gas fittings. A large safe is also housed within.

The walled garden comprises a rectangular-plan space (approximately 4,200 square metres) with lean-to greenhouses adjoining the inner north elevation (glazing missing) and brick-built potting sheds adjoining the outer elevation (part roofless). The garden was overgrown at the time of survey in 1998.

The former gas house at the rear is a rectangular-plan structure of part harl-pointed sandstone rubble, roofed with grey slate piended roof and topped by a brick-built ridge stack. Its interior was not surveyed in 1998 and was also overgrown at that time.

The entrance to the north-east is flanked by square-plan stop-chamfered gatepiers with corniced, ball-finialled caps. The gates are missing, but low coped flanking walls remain.