Description

TQ 53 NW SPELDHURST THE GREEN (west side), LANGTON
GREEN
7/497 Langton House

20.10.54
GV II

Large house. Early C19 in more than one phase (almost certainly earlier
origins). Main block is painted brick, garden front is weatherboarded timber-
framing at first floor level; painted brick stacks and chimneyshafts with
dentil cornices; slate roof.

Plan: Large house with an irregular double-depth plan facing onto The Green
to the east south east, say east. Entrance front to south and garden front to
west. 2 rooms wide. The front rooms heated by projecting end stacks. Main
doorway in left (south) end to rear of front room into large entrance hall
with staircase off to rear between rear rooms. Rear right room has projecting
end stack. An axial stack rear left heats 2 rear rooms there and probably
part of the service wing which projects for rear of left (south) side. It is
probably secondary. The layout suggests that originally there was a central
front doorway.

Main block is 2 storeys with attics in the front section, service wing is 2
storeys and single-storey billiard room extension off right (north) side at
the front.

Exterior: Symmetrical 3-window front. Central ground floor window, a C19 12-
pane sash, probably blocking earlier doorway, but it has a moulded stucco
architrave and a floating cornice on acanthus consoles. Flanking canted bays
containing replacement horned sashes without glazing bars, although a couple
of the side lights are original 8-pane sashes. Windows have moulded stucco
architraves and parapets with balustrade sections. Flat band at first floor
level. First floor windows; a central round-headed sash with radial glazing
bars and moulded stucco architrave and flanking tripartite sashes containing
central 12-pane sashes. Moulded band above and deep eaves on pairs of shaped
brackets. Roof hipped both ends and contains 3 flat roofed dormers with
horned 4-pane sashes. A weatherboarded clock tower rises from the centre of
the ridge. Clock face front has fielded panel surround. Pyramid roof
surmounted by a weathervane.

Entrance front (south) has less regular 2-window front, mostly 16-pane sashes
under low segmental brick arches (upper ones with shutters). Doorway to rear
of front stack. Glazed door with glazing bars and side lights and overlight.
Unusual flat roofed porch; moulded entablature on pairs of diagonally set
posts and segmental outer arch scrolling down at its apex. The north side has
irregular 5-window front. Most are 12-pane sashes but only those towards the
front have moulded stucco architraves. The western (garden) front is most
attractive. The weatherboarding here giving it a colonial appearance. It has
a 3-bay front. Outer bays have ground floor canted bay windows supporting
jettied first floor bays, each containing 2 windows, all 12-pane sashes.
Those in the bays have curious sills diminishing to pendants. Central doorway
under a broad segmental arch containing a glazed door with side lights and
overlight similar to the main entrance. Centre bay recessed at first floor
level to create a balcony fenced with an ornate cast iron balustrade. French
window onto the balcony. Deep eaves on pairs of shaped brackets and flanking
bays are gabled with plain bargeboards with apex pendants. Tented verandah
across this front in same style as main porch. Bellcote on ridge of roof.
Service block has late C19 windows, mostly horned 2- and 4-pane sashes.

Interior: Includes a great deal of C19 joinery and other detail including a
geometric stick baluster stair.

Langton House is the largest of a good group of varied listed buildings
fronting onto The Green.

Listing NGR: TQ5435539273

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26551941

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

• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)