Court Colman

Court Colman is an Italianate style house, dating from the 18th century with substantial alterations and additions in 1907. It comprises a main range facing south, with east and west wings, and a single-storey ballroom attached to the east wing. Behind the main range is a rear service wing, with former stables and yard ranges attached to it.

The main elevation is near-symmetrical with 11 bays. The central 7-bay main range is three storeys high and represents the original house to which an upper storey was added in 1907. The two-storey wings are set forward and have attics. The building is constructed of rubble stone with a roughcast finish, painted white, and has a slate roof with fluted ridge stacks. The upper storey of the main range is rusticated, while the wings have angle pilaster strips. A plain parapet includes urns, and the centre and ends are crowned with pedimented gables incorporating Venetian windows. A sundial, set into a tablet said to bear the date 1766 (rescued from the stable block), is situated above the central window of the main range. Throughout, sash windows are set in moulded architraves, except for the lower storey of the east wing, which features two tall cross-windows incorporating casements. A three-bay porch is centrally located and features pilasters, sash windows with fanlights, panelled double doors with raised fields and an overlight, and a balustrade with ornate vases. A rusticated, pedimented bay with a Venetian window is centrally placed on the east wing's side wall.

The ballroom attached to the east wing has a concrete render and is similar in style to the porch. It is six bays long and three bays wide, with paired Doric pilasters to the long garden front and single pilasters to the short south front. Large round-headed windows have moulded keys and fanlights above cross-windows, some incorporating doors. A concrete balustrade is similar to that of the porch, though most of the vases are missing.

The rear elevation is roughcast and incorporates sash windows. The main range has gablets to the centre and left, while a three-storey rear wing is situated to the right. A three-storey range is attached to this wing behind the short west wing. The stables consist of three parallel gabled ranges, with a range at right angles under a hipped roof at the west end. These are roughcast with tooled quoins, mullioned windows with brick surrounds, and a slate roof. A yard attached to the west end has rubble stone walls and a flattened elliptical arch with dressed voussoirs.

The interior layout and fittings date from 1907 or later. The entrance lobby contains an imperial staircase. Rooms on the ground floor of the main range have marble fireplaces, plaster cornices incorporating egg and dart and foliage, and panelled shutters. The right wing has been converted into a ballroom with lavish baroque plasterwork, and the original ballroom has been divided into two rooms.