The Gables, Peterborough, City of Peterborough

Description

819/0/10030

THORPE ROAD
The Gables

16-NOV-10

GV
II
House, 1895, designed by John Alfred Gotch, of red brick laid in English bond with limestone dressings. The roof is covered in modern concrete tiles.

PLAN: the house is constructed as two parallel ranges with pitched roofs; the south range of seven bays and two storeys, the north of eight bays with two storeys with attics and basement, and a single storey bay to the east.

EXTERIOR: The Gables is built to a Tudor/Jacobean design. The main south elevation presents a symmetrical façade of five bays, but is extended at the east end by a blind sixth bay (which presents its gable end to the east). A gabled entrance bay is flanked by two recessed bays, but the elevation is dominated by two outer gabled bays with two-storey canted bay windows, and by a single-storey decorative central stone porch. The entrance has a moulded round arch flanked by fluted pilasters, with carved spandrels, with an entablature and parapet above surmounted by three pinnacles; the parapets above the canted bays also contain strapwork decoration. Within the smaller central gable is a carved stone plaque with the initial B. All windows have mullions and transoms, the transoms to the ground floor bay windows arched to the canted sides and centre. The outer gables are surmounted by finials and all three have limestone kneelers. Modern single and two-storey extensions have been added to the east end of this elevation, and a disabled ramp, modern steps and railings have been added to the front of the porch.

The west elevation has three, first-floor mullioned and transomed windows, below which are three semi-circular bay windows to the ground floor surmounted by parapets and with decorative leaded windows above the transoms. The north, garden, elevation has four gables with dormer windows; the two smaller central gables have kneelers with volute decoration surmounted by finials. The second gabled bay from the west contains a large three-tier, fifteen-light window; between it and the west gabled bay a large lift shaft has been attached, constructed of corrugated sheeting. Between the first and second gabled bay from the east, a ground-floor window has been enlarged to create an additional door. At the east end, attached to the single-storey service rooms (originally the larder and boot room) is a modern single-storey red brick extension.

INTERIOR: from the porch, double doors open onto a panelled hall, the south-east corner of which is enclosed by modern partitions to create a separate office space; this contains the hall fireplace, of carved wood, partly boarded over, but with fluted pilasters and overmantle with carved cornice. The hall ceiling contains decorative ribbed plasterwork with small pendants, and a wide arch with carved spandrels divides the hall from the stairwell to the north. A doorway to the west of the entrance opens onto the drawing rooms. Its carved architrave includes four roundels with foliate decoration (a theme which recurs throughout the decorative scheme); the centre of one of these contains two Bs, one reversed, while another bears the date 1895. The door has five fielded panels. The living room has a coffered ceiling, the ribs formed by beams enclosed in decorative plasterwork. The windows consist of one large canted bay and two rounded bays, all set under arches and moulded architraves. The windows contain decorative leading and retain their original furniture. A modern partition with a wide opening divides the room in two. The room to the east of the hall (the morning room) has a similar south-facing canted bay window, a deep moulded cornice and a fireplace with overmantle. Opposite the morning room is the dining room, subdivided by a modern partition; both halves retain a deep decorative plasterwork cornice and dado-height panelling with fielded panels, a section of which has been replaced with plain boarding. The original entrance is the door from the hall, but two modern doors have been inserted. The dining room and morning room are divided by a corridor running east to the kitchen and other service rooms.

An open-well staircase rises from the north side of the hall. The stairs are open string with splat balusters and square newel posts with vase-shaped finials. The stairwell is lit by the three-tier north window, the upper lights of which contain elaborately decorative leadwork, while the ceiling contains moulded plasterwork decoration. A modern glazed screen surrounds the landing. Similar detail to that on the ground floor can be seen in the principal first floor corridors and rooms; this includes joinery in the form of arches in the corridor and around the two south bay windows, as well as architraves, doors, shelving, skirting boards and cornices. Most windows have decorative leadwork and original furniture. Some fireplace surrounds survive, but other fireplaces have been removed altogether. Modern rooms contain no details of interest. The upper part of the service stair at the east end of the corridor is enclosed, while the lower treads have plain stick balusters and newell post. The ground floor service corridor leads into modern extensions to the east and south.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: although the gardens of The Gables now contain a number of modern hospital buildings, the long drive from Thorpe Road to the south survives. This enters the courtyard to the south of the house through a pair of low piers. To the east of the house part of a screen wall containing a brick arched gateway survives.

HISTORY: in 1894 John Henry Beeby, a wealthy coal merchant, commissioned the Kettering firm of architects Gotch and Saunders to design a house to be built on seven acres of land on the north side of Thorpe Road, and within half a mile of the coal sidings beside the Great Northern Railway's east coast main line. The house, designed by John Alfred Gotch, was completed in 1895. Beeby died in 1924, but his widow continued to live in the house until 1933, when she sold it to George Ralph Baker, a director of the engineering firm of Baker Perkins. On the Ordinance Survey map of 1901 the house is shown to consist of a main double-fronted range with canted bays to south elevation and semi-circular bays to the west, and with a narrower, presumably service, range to the east. In 1947 The Gables became a maternity hospital, and by 1968 had been extended to the east. In 1970 the building was converted to use as a psychiatric day centre. The extension to the east seems to have been either remodelled or rebuilt in its present form at some time in the 1990s.

John Alfred Gotch (1852-1942) set up his first independent architectural practice in Kettering in 1878, and in 1887 entered into partnership with Charles Saunders; their successful association was to last until their joint retirement on 31st December 1937. Gotch was also an architectural historian, specialising in early modern English houses, and was the author of many books and articles on the subject, the most famous of which is perhaps 'Architecture of the Renaissance in England' (1891). From 1886-87 he was president of the Architectural Association, and was president of the Royal Institute of British Architects from1923-25.

SOURCES:
Gotch, Saunders and Surridge (architectural practice), website www.gotch.co.uk/history.htm accessed 9 August 2010
Hargrave, Dr R K, The Life and Works of John Alfred Gotch (1852-1842), Unpublished PhD thesis, University of London (2005).

REASON FOR DESIGNATION:
The Gables, a late C19 house designed by J A Gotch for the wealthy Peterborough coal merchant J H Beeby, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: The house is of special interest for the quality of its design and for the well considered extensive detail and craftsmanship.
* Architect: J A Gotch was a local Northamptonshire architect with a national reputation, and an authority on Jacobean and Tudor style. Seventeen designated buildings are ascribed to him, including four at Grade I and one at II*.
* Survival: The design, plan form and decorative detail of the exterior survive substantially intact. The most significant elements of the interior plan form also survive
* Interior: The interior contains extensive decorative detail of fine quality and craftsmanship, particularly the principal rooms.
* Historical interest: The house was commissioned by a distinguished local merchant and is illustrative of the wealth of the rising class of late C19 industrialists.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 11/12/2018

Reasons for Listing

The Gables, a late C19 house designed by J A Gotch for the wealthy Peterborough coal merchant J H Beeby, is designated for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: The house is of special interest for the quality of its design by the notable architect and authority on Jacobean and Tudor style, J A Gotch, and for the well considered extensive detail and craftsmanship.
* Architect: J A Gotch was a local Northamptonshire architect with a national reputation. Seventeen designated buildings are ascribed to him, including four at Grade I and one at Grade II*.
* Survival: The design, plan form and decorative detail of the exterior survive substantially intact. The most significant elements of the interior plan form also survive.
* Interior: The interior contains extensive decorative detail of fine quality and craftsmanship, particularly the principal rooms.
* Historical interest: The house was commissioned by a distinguished local merchant and is illustrative of the wealth of the rising class of late C19 industrialists.

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The Gables

A Grade II Listed Building in Peterborough, City of Peterborough

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Description

Reasons for Listing

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