Eccles House

Eccles House

Thomas Leadbetter designed this building between 1895 and 1898. It is an asymmetrical two-storey house with attic storey, following a Scottish 17th century revival style. The main block is rendered in painted harl with cream sandstone ashlar dressings. The base course consists of squared and snecked bull-faced sandstone; an architraved cill course divides the floors. The eaves are overhanging and mutuled. Openings feature long and short surrounds to chamfered details, with sandstone mullions and flush cills. A two-storey and attic service wing, roughly rectangular in plan, extends to the east. Beyond this stand single storey ancillary structures forming a courtyard, and a single storey stable block at the rear. The service wing is rendered in painted harl with overhanging boarded timber eaves. A single storey summer house adjoins the remains of St Mary's Convent to the north.

The northwest (entrance) elevation presents a three-bay composition with a further polygonal wing set at an angle to the left. The service wing and ancillary structures are recessed to the outer left. The tripartite doorpiece, offset right of centre, contains a part-glazed timber panelled door, narrow sidelights, panelled pilasters and a cornice. A round-arched pedimented window breaks the eaves at first floor and is dated 1898. Single windows appear at both floors in the bay to the outer right. Two single windows occupy the ground floor in the bay left of the entrance; a Venetian window is aligned at first floor. The polygonal wing to the outer left has a single window and four-light canted window at ground in its west face, with a triangular-pedimented window breaking the eaves at first floor to the right. Single windows appear at both floors in the remaining elevations facing north, northeast and east. The service wing adjoined to the left is irregularly fenestrated across two storeys. The ancillary structure to the outer left is a single storey range of five bays.

The southeast (rear) elevation comprises four bays. Single windows at ground flank the centre with architraved, ogee-shaped lintels; segmental-arched caps to single windows break the eaves at first floor, flanking a central wallhead stack. A five-light canted window at ground appears in a projecting bay to the left, with a swept pediment to the bipartite window breaking the eaves above. Bipartite windows appear at both floors in a canted bay right of centre, with a swept pediment to the upper opening. Single windows appear at both floors in the flanking returns. The adjoined service wing to the right is irregularly fenestrated; single storey ranges to the outer right form further ancillary structures.

The southwest (side) elevation displays three bays. A single window at ground in the bay to the outer left is topped by a round-arched pedimented window breaking the eaves. Single windows at ground in the remaining bays are recessed to the right.

The northeast (side) elevation shows a symmetrical service wing with single windows at first floor flanking the centre and a single attic light set between wallhead stacks. Single storey ancillary structures are adjoined at ground, forming a courtyard. Two-leaf iron gates and a decorative iron arch are present. An advanced garage block stands to the left, with a stable block recessed to the outer left.

Windows throughout contain 12-, 15- and 18-pane glazing in timber sash and case frames. The roof is grey slate with piend and platform sections. Original iron rainwater goods remain. Wallhead stacks are sandstone coped (battered in part) with various circular cans.

The interior retains the majority of its original details. Ground floor reception rooms feature boarded timber floors, timber dado panelling, and timber panelled doors with pilastered and corniced surrounds. Decorative cornices are present, along with some decorative plasterwork to ceilings. Various timber and marble fireplaces are located throughout. The timber panelled stair features a square-plan panelled newels, timber uprights, and timber handrails. The remainder of the interior was not inspected in 1998.

The summer house is a single storey structure of square plan. It is built in harl-pointed sandstone rubble with sandstone ashlar dressings. Its southeast (entrance) elevation contains a part-glazed timber door at centre, flanked by engaged columns, with a gabled porch on columnar supports to the front. Small round-arched windows occupy bays to the outer left and right. The southwest (side) elevation features a Venetian window at centre. Small-pane glazing appears throughout the timber windows. The roof is red tile with a pyramidal form and tapering finial. The interior was not inspected in 1998.

Boundary walls of rubble sandstone partially enclose the site (in part mutual with the graveyard). Coped and coursed sandstone walls flank the northwest entrance. Corniced square-plan outer piers with pyramidal caps stand either side. Paired gatepiers—corniced outer, plain inner—have pyramidal caps and spearheaded iron pedestrian and vehicular gates. Low coped walls, including a sinuous wall to the north, flank the northeast entrance. Square-plan gatepiers flank a garden entrance to the north; circular-plan gatepiers with urn finials flank the main entrance; iron gates complete both openings.