Description

WELLS

ST5445 UNION STREET
662-1/7/326 (West side)
12/11/53 No.15
Burwood House and attached
outbuilding

GV II

Former house, now offices. Late C16 and C17; C18 or C19 wing
and outbuilding. A fireback is inscribed 'PPM 1680'. Local
stone rubble roughly coursed, ashlar dressings, clay pantiled
roof between coped gables, brick chimney stacks.
PLAN: a cross-passage front range, with shallow wing to the
rear left; attached right is a long gabled wing, and attached,
left, by an enclosing boundary wall, a 2-storey outbuilding,
possibly a former coach-house, these around a courtyard.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys with attics, 3 bays, the outer bays with
gabled attics. Bays 1 and 3 have 2-storey shallow canted bays
with ovolo-mould mullioned casements of 1+3+1 lights, with
hood moulds to each level and hipped Welsh slate roofs, centre
bay has a 16-pane sash window with exposed boxes set under a
square label, and below is a wide 6-panel door, with plain
casing and a timber pediment hood on brackets. Attic windows
in gables are 2-light ovolo-mould mullioned, with traces of
labels. South gable rendered, with two C20 windows, one to
first floor and one to attic.
The long N wall to the wing is in rubble, with pantile roof,
and has a central ridge stack. At the right end is an
elliptical arch over a plank door, and the name 'Burwood
House' painted on the arch. There are two 2-light casements to
the first floor. The return gable has a central plank door.
INTERIOR: part of the ground floor only inspected. The
cross-passage is stone flagged; to the right is a large room
with fireplace backing on the passage with large 4-centred
stone surround, with moulded surround and incised spandrels,
all of which has been hacked for plastering; above the
herring-bone fireback is an inset initialled plaque. The large
central beam is also hacked, and in the rear, left corner are
remains of a winder stair with solid string, splat balusters
and square incised newels with ball finials.
In the rear wall are remains of a doorway with 4-centred head.
The left-hand room has a central beam with ovolo-mould; there
are remains of 2 doorways with panelled linings; one of these
has a blocked 'squint' 6-pane light.
The property, now somewhat isolated by later developments, was
clearly a house of some importance when built, with its own
service yard.
(SANHS Annual: Taunton: 1988-: 264; Hale B: Vernacular
Architecture Group Report: 1988-).

Listing NGR: ST5482645732

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26663148

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.

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