Description

SUNDERLAND

NZ3956SW THORNEHOLME ROAD
920-1/21/297 (North East side)
21/12/93 The Croft, formerly Tonstall School

II

Includes: The Crofts, formerly Tonstall School ABBOTSFORD
GROVE.
House. c1890, with alterations c1905. Designed by George T
Brown. For Joseph L Thompson. Interiors refitted by William J
Neatby. Red brick and tile-hung, with plain tile roofs. 2
brick stacks. 2 storey. South front has central doorway with
glazed door and wooden hood. Above 3 single light plain
sashes, and above again a 2-light dormer window. To right a
2-storey canted bay window each with 3 central lights and
cross casements, and above a timber-framed gable with two,
2-light casements. To the left a canted bay window on the
ground floor, with a projecting wing above supported on timber
posts with tile hanging and a 3-light cross casement. West
front has 2 storey canted bay windows on either side, both
with tile hanging and 3-light cross casements, above each has
a timber-framed gable with two, 2-light casements each.
INTERIOR: the interiors largely date from the buildings
refitting c1905 by William J Neatby, and they include some
very original Art Nouveau style fittings. The staircase hall
is panelled with an open well stair with splat balusters and
square newels, plus panelled ceilings and fitted cupboards
with stained glass. Most of the remaining rooms retain similar
features, with a very fine group of tiled fireplaces with
wooden surrounds and tile fronts, most with beaten brass hoods
and fittings. Many rooms also have fitted cupboards with
stained glass, and doors with similar glass and brass
furniture. Some of the windows have stained glass.
This building is listed for the extremely rare and unusual Art
Nouveau decoration and fittings that it contains.

Listing NGR: NZ3912856238

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26569065

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

• 
  For the Record
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)