Description

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SU 1429 SW
5/7

THE CLOSE
No 68

28.2.52.

GV
I
Site of early canonical house known in C16 as "Myles Place". Rebuilt 1720 and stateliest house in the Close. Three storey and semi-basement. Ashlar stone east front with projecting plinth up to ground floor level, forming base to four Doric pilasters (at corners and flanking three centre bays which have slight projection) carried up two storeys with moulded entablature, broken forward over pilasters, the top of cornice forming sill to second floor windows, which are in tall attic crowned with string and with the pilaster lines carried up to coping of tall parapet over attic storey. The pilasters have egg-and-tongue carving to caps. Old tile roof.

Seven windows to upper floors. Six windows on ground floor. Ground and first floor windows have moulded cills and triple keystones. Six two-light semi-basement casement windows. Tall ten-panel central door with Lions' head knocker and four-pane rectangular
fanlight in plain stone surround with projecting key block. Stone doorcase of fluted Corinthian pilasters, broken entablature and segmental pediment with small shield and supporting swags in tympanum. The door approached by double flight of twelve stone steps curved outwards at bottom, with solid balustrades elaborately worked out to give scale and distance by false perspective of diminishing heights between projecting piers at the different levels of stair and varying heights of the coping. The west garden elevation is red brick with stone dressings and also has giant pilasters with egg and dart moulding to caps. Similar fenestration and details as on main front. Central glazed door to raised ground floor with thick bar lattice glazing pattern similar to that in door of Summerhouse in garden of No 15 The Close qv. Flight of steps with iron balustrade down to garden. North side of house has later C18 porch with fluted Roman Doric columns and wall pilasters, entablature and rendered rectangular bay with one window, added above.

Interior has large entrance hall containing staircase and balcony round at first floor level, open string thin turned balusters. Inlay work on landing. Panelling and back doorway with open pediment on fluted pilasters. Angle fireplace to rear room. Good plaster ceiling to first floor drawing room, small stone fireplace flanked by pilasters.

All the listed buildings in the Close form an outstanding group.

Listing NGR: SU1411129408

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• 68, The Close at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17529793

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

• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)