History

Large town house, earlier C19 reconstruction, probably by William Owen, of an older house, probably mid C18, of which one panelled room remains inside. An old photograph shows that there was a two-storey canted bay on top of the porch. The interior remodelling included a fine curving staircase with small dome over. There were cellars, no longer accessible. Hillborough House was occupied by T.R. Dawkins in 1901.

Exterior

Substantial terraced house, painted roughcast with slate roofs behind low parapet. Three storeys, broad five-bay front with raised band under parapet. Windows are renewed 12-pane sashes to first floor and ground floor two bays to right of centre and one bay to left. Outer left bay has double boarded doors of former coach-house. Centre first floor windows in place of a canted bay window seen in old photographs. Top floor has short windows, 12-pane to outer bays, 16-pane to inner ones while centre has a broad horizontal C20 double window. Centre recessed doorway with overlight. Double single-panel doors, overlight with tiny square piers dividing panes. Broad Greek revival stucco porch with two pairs of baseless Greek Doric columns and plain, possibly altered, entablature with flat coping.. Wrought-iron railings on low stone copings to basement area (now infilled).
Parallel rear range in painted stucco with curved two-storey bow (like the bows at Hermon's Hill House) containing the staircase. Tripartite broad C20 window each floor. Left side may have a truncated older chimney. UPVC windows to ground and first floor left. Rear range does not extend across final bay to right, the former throughway, and rear wall of front range has remains of slate hanging.

Interior

Entrance hallway with late C19 coloured tiled floor, panelled 6-panel door each side. Two fine fluted Ionic columns before broad stair hall, which has 6-panel door each side. The front left room is very narrow, because of throughway on other side. Victorian fireplace. Front right room has sideboard recess with curved upper angles, timber casing, imposts and moulded key block. Fireplace with cast-iron grate. Panelled shutters, cornice renewed in late C20. Stair hall has fine broad staircase with continuous handrail, scrolled at the foot. Two square balusters per tread, scrolled tread ends. Curved back wall with C20 tripartite window (replacing sashes) on each landing. Open stair-well under a stuccoed dome with radiating sunk panels and glass in apex (to let in light from a roof-light above). Single panel door to under-stair area, with stone flagged floors. First floor landing is curved ended to right and opens into circular lobby to left. Two curved-backed arched niches on main landing. Right end has two curved 6-panel doors and two narrow niches. Small rooms off. To left a square-headed opening with paired panelled slim pilasters opens into circular lobby with two curved panelled doors and one double-door, not curved into main front room. Flat ceiling with circular plain moulding. Main first floor room has fine marble fireplace of c1840 with panelled piers and anthemion bosses under scroll capitals. Mid C19 arched cast-iron grate. Deep skirting boards. Centre small swirled acanthus ceiling-rose. Off lobby to left is bathroom in altered mid C18 narrow room with fielded panelled walls and dentil cornice. A panelled partition divided off a small lobby with original fireplace wall. Double-door cupboard at opposite end with shaped heads to upper panels. Panelling within cupboard. Attic has brass handrail. Attic has panelled doors off landing, some re-used fielded-panelled doors, and three large pine collar trusses to roof. One bedroom has marble hearth slab.

Reasons for Listing

Graded II* as a large late Georgian townhouse which has retained good interior features including staircase.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17742136

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

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)