Description

SANDWELL MB OAK ROAD, West Bromwich
SO 99 SE
4/116 Oak House
25.2.49
II*

House, now museum. Late C16, with west wing said to be added c1600 (VCH),
porch and prospect tower early C17, brick additions at rear c1635. Restored
and opened as museum 1898. Timber-framed with brick additions and tile roof.
Two storeys with attic. Jettied at front (north) and on west side. Framing
exposed and has close-studding with middle rail, and some straight braces.
Facade has three jettied gables, the right-hand one said to be later but in
a similar style. Below each gable, on both floors, there is a restored oriel
window. Adjoining each of these windows there are mullioned windows of two,
three and four lights. Between the second and third gables there is a two-
storeyed jettied and gabled porch, which has ogee bracing on the first floor
and a moulded outer doorway. Rising above the ridge of the roof, in line
with the porch, is the prospect tower, which has decorative framing, two small
gables facing north, and an oriel window. Chimneys to left of prospect tower,
on ridge of right-hand wing and on left-hand return wall, the latter with pro-
jecting stack. The right-hand return wall has two oriel windows on each floor,
those on the first floor under dormer gables. The south wall of the west wing
is of brick, as is the central part of the rear wall, which has twin shaped
gables and restored sandstone mullioned windows. Interior has exposed deeply-
chamfered main ceiling joists. Part of the ceiling of the entrance hall was
removed during the C19 alterations to create a light well, the floor of the
prospect tower being removed so that it could act as a lantern. Many of the
rooms have C17 panelling, restored and added to in the C19. The Morning Room
at the rear on the ground floor and the main bedroom on the first floor have
particularly fine carved panels. The C17 open-well stair has elaborate fret-
work balusters. Ground plan and description in VCH Staffordshire, Vol VII,
p 25, 26.

Listing NGR: SO9980590851

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Oak House, West Bromwich at Wikipedia
• Oak House, West Bromwich official website
• Wikidata Q7073600

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

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)