Description

PORTLAND

SY6873 FORTUNESWELL, Fortuneswell
969-1/3/94 (North East side)
16/01/51 No.4
Queen Anne House with boundary wall
and gate piers

II*

Detached house. Early C18, probably for one of the Gilbert
family, quarry owners; Thomas Gilbert designer of St. George
Reforne Church (qv), but incorporating some fragments of
earlier work at rear. Portland ashlar, some squared and
coursed, slate front slope, tile rear roof slope. Two storeys,
basement and attic, 5-windowed. 3 flat-roofed dormers with
slate cheeks and 2-light 4-paned casements above 12-pane
sashes. First-floor sashes in plat band surrounds on stooled
cills and with small aprons; at ground floor to Gibbsian
surrounds and bold projecting voussoirs on moulded cills to
brackets. To basement are 2-light casements under a string,
rougher stone wall, one smaller light to left of bridge over
to main 3-panelled part-glazed C19 door with rosette in
Gibbsian surround to bold voussoirs under cornice hood. Stone
stack with plain band capping to each gable with raised verge
to kneelers. Gable ends plain, one small light right end; long
single- storey extension to right not of special interest.
Back includes a 16-pane early C19 sash and two blind windows.
Interior has entrance hall with panelled coffered ceiling and
dog-leg stair with shaped open string to heavy moulded
handrail on turned balusters; stair to basement has some open
fret balustrading, and a section of swept handrail. Main
ground-floor room to left fully panelled, with window shutters
and two cupboard niches to back wall, moulded cornice, plain
fire surround in simplified rococo form. Corresponding room
below has wide ingle fireplace with large stone bressumer,
cracked at centre, and remains of bread oven. Thick-walled
section at back probably from earlier structure, has stone
cheeks to inner lobby flanking door at basement level, and
deep embrasured openings. Subsidiary features: low boundary
wall with plain weathered coping stepped across full width of
frontage, pair of square gate piers to low pyramid cappings
and stone balls at bridge for front door - bridge parapets in
concrete block; smaller square pier at left end.
The finest and most complete house of this period on the
island, built from the much increased profits of the Portland
stone industry.
(Royal Commission on Historical Monuments: Dorset: London:
1970-: 254).

Listing NGR: SY6892073298

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Queen Anne House, Portland at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q15378723

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

• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)