Peelwalls House

Peelwalls House

Built around 1830 with later additions and alterations, this classical house was converted for use as a residential nursing home in the 20th century. The main block is a symmetrical 2-storey building of 5 by 2 bays with a full-height rear addition forming a near square plan. Lower 2-storey wings project at the rear with single-storey piended additions beyond, creating a near U-plan. A later 2-storey rear addition is recessed at the centre to form an E-plan, and a modern flat-roofed block is recessed to the side.

The house is constructed in rusticated cream sandstone ashlar at ground level to the front; coursed ashlar forms the 1st floor and sides, with some tooled and coursed cream sandstone used on rear additions. Ashlar dressings run throughout. A base course, band course in part, eaves course, corniced eaves, and blocking course complete the stonework. The main block features predominantly architraved margins and panelled aprons (corniced at 1st floor to the front), with plain margins to the rear and projecting cills.

The south (entrance) elevation presents the formal front. A central entrance comprises a 2-leaf timber panelled door with a decorative fanlight, framed by a classical door-surround with detached fluted Doric columns, a decorative frieze of triglyphs with guttae and metopes, and a dentilled cornice. Single windows flank the entrance at ground level in the remaining bays, with single windows in all bays at 1st floor level.

The west (side) elevation contains a 2-bay block to the outer right with a corniced, canted window centred at ground level and single windows in both bays at 1st floor. A full-height 2-bay wing recessed to the left has canted windows at both floors to the right and single windows at both floors to the left. A regularly fenestrated lower 4-bay addition advances to the left, with a single-storey addition to the outer left containing a single window offset to the right. A coped wall encloses the site beyond.

The north (rear) elevation features a single window in the central wing. Wider flanking wings contain various openings with single-storey piended additions projecting at ground level. A flat-roofed addition is recessed to the left.

The east (side) elevation shows a 2-bay block to the outer left with a corniced, canted window centred at ground level and single windows at both floors at 1st floor. A full-height 3-bay wing recessed to the right features tripartite windows at both floors at the centre with narrow side-lights, and single windows at both floors in the flanking bays. A lower 4-bay addition to the left has a modern flat-roofed projection at ground level with single windows in all bays at 1st floor. A single-storey addition to the outer right contains a single window to the left and a boarded timber door to the right, with a coped wall enclosing the site beyond.

Windows throughout are predominantly plate glass timber sash and case. Grey slate piended roofs and corniced sandstone ridge stacks with tapering square-plan, corniced cans are features of the exterior. Cast-iron rainwater goods are installed.

Interior

The interior has been adapted for use as a residential nursing home in the late 20th century. The entrance hall features timber panelled walls in part, timber dado rails, and architraved surrounds to timber panelled doors. A main stair from the later 19th century displays barley-twist timber uprights, square-plan timber panelled and finialled newels, and timber handrails. A ground floor reception room contains decorative plasterwork, a corniced and pilastered door surround, and a decorative fireplace. The remainder of the interior was not examined.

Garden and Boundary Features

Various rubble-coped rubble garden walls enclose the site. The boundary is defined by square-coped rubble sandstone walls to the road with plain, ball-finialled railings above. Rubble-coped quadrant walls flank the north entrance with pyramidal-capped square-plan outer piers. Low, coped quadrant walls flank the south entrance with finialled railings and rusticated, square-plan, pyramidal-capped outer piers. Rusticated square-plan gatepiers flank the vehicular entrance with ball-finialled, corniced caps, and 2-leaf decorative iron gates complete the entrance.