Description

SY 09 SW FARRINGDON

3/32 Farringdon House including
8.11.85 terrace adjoining to north

- II

Mansion. C18 origins, modernised circa 1800, thoroughly remodelled 1897 - 1900. The
earlier work is stucco over brick on red conglomerate stone footings, the Victorian
part is exposed brick with some black brick diaper work and Hamstone dressings;
brick stacks mostly with C19 brick tops; slate roofs to the earlier parts, red tile
to the Victorian part.
Large house facing south-south-east, say south. The basic plan is 3 rooms wide and
4 deep. There is a single storey 1-room extension to left (west) of the front and
the rest of the west side was thrown out a short distance on the lower left side
circa 1900 with a large entrance porch and new main stair. From the new porch a
narrow 2-storey gallery extends northwards to connect the main house to the circa
1900 service and boilerhouse wing. Most of the rooms are heated. There is a
terrace adjoining the northern side. The front (southern) range is 3 storeys, the
right (eastern) range is 2 storeys with attics, the rear (northern) range is 2
storeys with basement and attics and the left (western) range is 3 storeys with
attics.
Each front has a different elevation. The south front has the most complete C18
appearance. It is symmetrical 2:3:2-window front with the central bay broken
slightly forward. All windows are late C19 mullion-and-upper transom casements.
Those on the second floor have glazing bars but most of the rest have only patterns
of glazing bars to the top lights. The 2 ground floor windows flanking the central
door are C20 plate glass. Plain flat-roofed porch of circa 1900 has part-glazed
double doors and a plain doorcase. The central bay has a plat band at first floor
level and a pediment at the top containing an oculus window. The deep eaves have a
circa 1900 cornice with large shallow dentils. The roof is hipped each end. The
left-hand extension has 2 larger mullion-and-transom windows and is gable-ended.
The right (eastern) end of the front block is blind. The east front behind is
plastered with brick-coloured plaster which is painted with white lines as neat
brickwork. There is a chamfered plinth and rubble footings, a plat band at first
floor level and stucco quoins on the rear (right) corner. Apart from a C20 service
doorway and large circa 1900 large first floor 3-light window the 4 ground floor and
5 first floor windows are probably C18. Some towards the right are blind, the rest
contain mullion-and-transom windows similar to those on the south front except for 1
early C19 12-pane sash to the ground floor. The attics have dormers of various
sizes with segmental heads. Large modillion eaves, cornice and roof is gable ended.
The left (west) front is largely late C19. Between the extension to the front on
the right and the late C19 porch the ground level falls. There are French windows
at the right end entered from a terrace and the rest falls to accommodate an extra
storey. This part is 2 storeys high with soffit moulded Hamstone coping and flat
roof back to the main block. It has a 3-window front, 2 mullion-and-transom windows
and to the right a tall flat arch headed stair window containing panels of
translucent coloured leaded glass. Above the parapet the main block has 6 C20
windows and there are 3 gabled dormers on the roof. The porch is 3 storeys high and
has an embattled parapet over a band of decorative diaper brickwork. The ground
floor level is built of Hamstone ashlar and contains a flat-arched doorway with
moulded surround and plain spandrels. It is flanked by sunken panels over low
buttresses with moulded weatherings. There is a moulded cornice at first floor
level and a moulded dripcourse a little above is used as the sill of a Palladian
style window with Doric mullions and dentil cornice, and the second floor has a 4-
light mullion-and-transom window. A 2-storey gallery with embattled parapet
connects to the service block to the left (north). It has 3 mullion-and-transom
windows over a now-blocked Hamstone ashlar arcade. The gable-ended service wing at
right angles is built in the same style with a large central gabled bay window
flanked by mullion-and-transom windows over another blocked 4-bay arcade of flat
arches.
The north front is C18 but adapted in the late C19. The main front is plastered
brick coloured and painted as brickwork with a plat band across at first floor level
and a moulded timber cornice. It has a 2:3:2-window front, all late C19 and C20.
The outer bays project very slightly and have late C19 brick gables containing attic
windows and the roof between has a gabled dormer. The basement here is hidden
behind a terrace with rock-faced sandstone retaining wall and a balustrade of
concrete turned balusters between square-section posts. In the centre is a flight
of steps down to the lawn with the balustrade sweeping outwards either side.
Several late C19 cast iron decorated rainwater heads and drain pipes survive around
the house and the rainwater head on the north side is particularly ornate, fashioned
as a gargoyle-like griffin.
Interior contains a great deal of good quality detail although it is by no means
complete. The C18 stairs were reset in the late C19 extension on the west side; it
has a closed string, square newel posts, moulded flat handrail and twisted
balusters. There is some good detail of circa 1800 such as those ground floor rooms
on the front. The left room has large field panelling with the dado enriched with
Vitruvian scrollwork, an Adams-style moulded plaster frieze and marble chimney-
piece. All the doors off the entrance are panelled and enriched with carvings. The
right room has good panelled oak wainscotting with a fretwork frieze under the dado,
a cupboard recess flanked by fluted Ionic pilasters, an Adams-style marble chimney-
piece, and an intersecting beam ceiling with moulded plaster florettes along the
soffits and modillion cornices. Other rooms have similar detail and the rear
central room includes a panelled door with marquetry inlay and Japanese lacquer-work
panels. It is said that the house was occupied by the RAF during the Second World
War and contains 2 notable murals depicting the local airport, aircraft, airmen,
etc., but it is not known whether these still survive.

Listing NGR: SY0176291924

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26434169

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)