Description

In the entry for:-
REDDITCH B NORGROVE LANE
SP 06 NW (west side)

1/135 Norgrove Court
(formerly listed as
10.4.54 Norgrove Court Farmhouse)

GV II*

The entry shall be amended to read:

SP 06 NW REDDITCH B NORGROVE LANE
(west side)
1/135 Norgrove Court
(formerly listed as
10.4.54 Norgrove Court Farmhouse)

GV I

House. Built c1649 for William Cookes, with mid-C19 alterations;
restored c1970-5. Handmade brick in English bond with sandstone
ashlar dressings, plain tiled hipped roof with broad eaves supported
on shaped brackets; panelled brick ridge stacks set symmetrically
near each end of front and rear roof; also massive central octagonal
brick stack with moulded cornice.
PLAN: Rectangular double depth plan. At front central 4-bay hall
with great chamber above and flanking parlours and chambers. Main
stair hall behind right hand end of hall. Hall originally had screens
passage at its left and leading to servants' stairs, services and
kitchen to rear left (NW). The stairs and mezzanine floors at rear
make the rear elevation asymmetrical. The circa 1820s remodelling
provided a small entrance hall on the right (E) side. Two storeys,
attic and cellar with mezzanines; ashlar plinth band and also string
course between main storeys and at eaves level. Windows are of
splayed mullion and transom type with moulded architraves (some have
been replaced with wooden windows). South garden elevation: eight
bays articulated in almost Mannerist rhythm of 2:1:2:1:2; outer pairs
of bays are placed close together and the four central bays are
grouped but each bay is spaced further apart than the outer pairs.
The windows on the first floor in the third and sixth bays have their
lower lights occupied by glazed double doors, which reach to string
level, and have C20 wooden balconies on shaped brackets; the lintels
are carved with a pair of raised rectangular panels; the lower lights
of the two central ground floor windows have been replaced by glazed
double doors. An eaves bracket to the left of the sixth bay is carved
with the date 1649. North elevation: irregular fenestration; the
third and sixth bays have 6-light staircase windows with doorways
beneath. Main entrance presently in east side elevation; this is of
five bays; there are no ground floor windows in the fourth and fifth
bays as a single-storey wing (now demolished) once adjoined this
elevation: central skylight and central entrance with part-glazed
panelled door. West side elevation: except for one first floor
window the windows have been replaced. Central entrance has a 3-
centred arched head with stepped voussoirs.
INTERIOR: the unusual plan is expressed externally. The main
staircase is the original oak one, but it has been turned round and
much restored; it has large boldly detailed newels with carved
finials and balusters of a similar but simplified outline. SE and NE
chambers have elaborate overmantels and friezes. The south-east one
is a surprisingly late example of plasterwork taken from an engraving
by Vriedman de Vries. SW chamber has single chimneypiece and moulded
ceiling cornices. Small back parlour at mezzanine level off main
stairs has panelling, moulded ceiling cornices, fireplace and
overmantel with caryatids. Hall has C20 chimneypiece; SE parlour has
pilastered chimneypiece. 3-centred arch doorways of servants' stairs
which have moulded balusters down to kitchen and splat balusters
rising to attics. Original roof structure largely intact has collars
to principal rafters, butt purlins and diagonally trenched ridgepiece.
The house was divided into two farmhouses in c1823 and later into
tenements when some of the ground floor detail was removed. The house
is of an unusual and deceptively complex design that is advanced for
its date, whilst the detailing is curiously old-fashioned. The roof
was undoubtedly intended to have dormer windows and the vast chimney
stack appears to be a more practical alternative to a lantern and
cupola as the dominant central feature. The original design of the
south front is less certain but probably solid first floor doors and
flights of steps instead of balconies were intended so as to give the
required emphasis to this elevation. (Country Life, CLXXVI, no 4558,
p 1994 - 7; VCH, 3 (i), p 111 - 113; BOE, p 284 - 5).

------------------------------------

REDDITCH B NORGROVE LANE (west side)
SP 06 NW
1/135 Norgrove Court
(formerly listed as
Norgrove Court Farmhouse)
10.4.54

GV II*

House. Built c1649 for William Cookes, with mid-C19 alterations; restored
c1987-5. Handmade brick in English bond with sandstone ashlar dressings,
plain tiled hipped roof with broad eaves supported on shaped brackets;
panelled brick ridge stacks set symmetrically near each end of front and
rear roof; also massive central octagonal brick stack with moulded cornice.
Rectangular plan. Two storeys, attic and cellar with mezzanines; ashlar
plinth band and also string course between main storeys and at eaves level.
Windows are of splayed mullion and transom type with moulded architraves
(some have been replaced with-wooden windows). South garden elevation:
eight bays articulated in almost Mannerist rhythm of 2:1:2:1:2; outer pairs
of bays are placed close together and the four central bays are grouped but
each bay is spaced further apart than the outer pairs. The windows on the
first floor in the third and sixth bays have their lower lights occupied by
glazed double doors, which reach to string level, and have C20 wooden balconies
on shaped brackets; the lintels are carved with a pair of raised rectangular
panels; the lower lights of the two central ground floor windows have been
replaced by glazed double doors. An eaves bracket to the left of the sixth
bay is carved with the date 1649. North elevation: irregular fenestration;
the third and sixth bays have 6-light staircase windows with doorways beneath.
Main entrance presently in west side elevation; this is of five bays; there
are no ground floor windows in the fourth and fifth bays as a single-storey
wing (now demolished) once adjoined this elevation; central skylight and
central entrance with part-glazed panelled door. East side elevation: except
for one first floor window the windows have been replaced. Central entrance
has a semi-circular arched head with stepped voussoirs: Interior: inspection
not possible at time of resurvey. The building is recorded as having had
unusual layout which is expressed externally. There is a central four-bay
hall, and the parlour bay to the south-east, the kitchen to the north-east
with the remaining corners divided horizontally to form mezzanines. There
is another mezzanine at the centre of the north elevation flanked by the main
staircase to the east and a secondary staircase to the west. On the first
floor the Great Chamber occupies the space above the hall. The main staircase
is the original oak one, but it has been turned round and much restored; it
has large boldly detailed newels with carved finials and balusters of a
similar but simplified outline. Two first floor rooms have elaborate over-
mantels and friezes. The south-east one is a surprisingly late example of
plasterwork taken from an engraving by Vriedman de Vries. The house was
divided into two farmhouses in c1823 and later into tenements when much of
the ground floor detail was removed. The house is of an unusual and deceptively
complex design that is advanced for its date, whilst the detailing is curiously
old-fashioned. The roof was undoubtedly intended to have dormer windows and the
vast chimney stack appears to be a more practical alternative to a lantern and
cupola as the dominant central feature. The original design of the south front
is less certain but probably solid first floor doors and flights of steps instead
of balconies were intended so as to give the required emphasis to this elevation.
(Country Life, CLXXVI, no 4558, p 1994 - 7; VCH, 3(i), p 111 - 113; BoE, p 284-5).

Listing NGR: SP0071865378

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Norgrove Court at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17530363

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

• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)