Avilion

Avilion is a striking Arts and Crafts house, designed to evoke a French château. It was likely constructed in the early 20th century and is built of rubble masonry, rendered externally. The roof is covered with small green slates, featuring broadly projecting eaves with exposed rafter ends, hipped gable dormers, and tall rectangular rendered stacks with projecting corbelled caps at each end of the main building.

The house has a rectangular plan, with the main elevation facing a bay. A separate service wing is located at the left end. The main part of the house is strongly symmetrical, dominated by a hipped roof that sweeps down over a central glazed verandah. This is flanked by two advanced circular bays resembling turrets, each with a conical roof, corbelled eaves, tall leaded finials surmounted by balls. The windows are slightly recessed 8-pane casements, which are modern UPVC replicas of the originals. There are hipped gable dormers above the verandah, including two first-floor dormers with three lights each, and a central, single-light attic dormer. The right gable return features two 9-pane circular windows on the ground floor. The entrance is located at the rear, central to the main part, and is accessed through a round-headed arched stone porch leading to a round-headed panelled door with a single ‘bullseye’ light. The rear elevation presents scattered windows of mixed lights, including a tall 6-light dormer window of 8-pane casements above the porch, and two and three-light dormers on either side. The service wing has a single 2-light window to the left and a square-headed doorway to the right.

The entrance opens into an axial hallway, with a dog-leg staircase situated to the right of the doorway. The staircase has a moulded rail with shaped pierced splats interspersed with diagonally-set stick balusters. To the left is the main sitting room that extends from front to back, while the dining room is set at a right angle to the rear. Both rooms contain contemporary fireplaces. The sitting room’s fireplace has a stone surround with a depressed 4-centred arch featuring floriate carving in the spandrels, a chamfered surround, and a moulded mantel. The dining room’s fireplace is adorned with an ornate carved mantel and a brick chevron design insert. Two sets of French windows lead into the verandah. Upper-storey rooms retain small cast iron fireplaces with garland decoration. The service wing has been modernised but retains original slate shelving in the pantry.