Description

DIPTFORD Bradridge House SX75NW 4/193 9.2.61

GV II

Small Country house. Circa 1830 remodelling of an earlier house. Stone rubble rendered and lined out. Rear wing rendered its inner face is painted stone rubble with slate hanging above. Slate roofs; main range has gabled right hand end and semi-conical left hand end with wooden finial; parallel rear range and rear wing have lower roofs with hipped ends with wooden finials; all with lead rolls to the hips and ridges and paired shaped eaves brackets to wooden gutters. Bitumen coated slate roof over the verandah. 2 plastered rear lateral chimney stacks with 3 and 4 octagonal moulded shafts, and right hand gable end stack with moulded cornice and set-offs. Plan: The present house is largely the result of a substantial circa 1830 remodelling but the main front range appears to have the plan of an earlier house of either a 3-room plan the lower end to the left, or a 2-room plan the third room on the right added as there is a solid masonry wall between the right hand room and the central room. Furthermore the rear wing behind the right hand end has earlier (probably C18) roof trusses and there are several C18 panelled doors on the first floor of the main range and the rear wing. The circa 1830 remodelling created the existing house which has a entrance hall to the left of centre with a staircase, a drawing room to the left, with a segmentally bowed left hand end wall with a verandah, and to the right of the stair hall a dining room; both the dining and drawing rooms are heated from rear lateral stacks and the small room on the far right end like an inner room of a traditional 3-room plan is heated from a gable end stack. The circa 1830 remodelling involved the addition of a shallow parallel circa 1830 remodelling involved the addition of a small parallel service range to the rear of the main range containing a small parlour to the left a rear porch behind the stairhall and a cupboard and pantry behind the central room. There is a longitudinal corridor in the rear service range with a bank stairs at the right hand end. The first room in the rear wing behind the right end is the kitchen with what appears to be servants' quarters behind with a smaller staircase to the servants' rooms above. Exterior: 2 storeys. South front 3:1 window range; the 3 windows to the left are symmetrically early C19 2-light casements on the first floor, 8 panes per light and 2 C19 French doors on the ground floor with glazing bars and margin panes; central doorway with moulded wooden architrave and an early C19 glazed and panelled double doors with a rectangular overlight and a shallow recessed porch with panelled inner doors and a rectangular overlight. The right hand windows are early C19 sashes, 6 panes to first floor and 20 panes to ground floor. All the windows have wooden louvred shutters. The left hand end is segmentally bowed with rounded corners and an early C19 verandah on rustic wooden posts with a moulded cast iron gutter and the soffit of the verandah is plastered; under the verandah are early C19 French doors and a 2-light window above the same as those at the front but carved and complete with curved louvred shutters. The verandah continues around to the left to meet the recessed end wall of the rear range which has a C19 French window on the ground floor and a C19 casement above similar to those at the front and also with louvred shutters. At the back the 2-storeyed porch has a hipped roof C19 half-glazed door; C19 casement to the right with margin panes and to left one ground floor sash and 2 first floor early C19 12-pane sashes. Inner face of the rear wing has C19 2-light first floor casements and C20 ground floor cabinets and 2 plank doors. The outer side of the rear wing has 2 C18 3-light wooden mullion windows with leaded panes and some old glass, and possibly 2 similar windows to the right and in the end which while may be similar but are covered with zinc meds. Interior: All the early C19 joinery is intact and most of the early C19 plaster cornices survive but some were replaced later in C19. The left hand room has a white marble chimney piece with panelled pilasters and anthelion decoration in the frieze; richly moulded plaster cornice and centrepiece; the bolection moulded panelling must be late C19. The right hand room has good moulded plaster ceiling elliptically arched recesses with panelled dado cupboards. An archway was broken through in 1924 from the right hand room to stairhall? The rear wall of the stairhall is curved the open well staircase has an open string with shaped tread ends, moulded balusters and a wreathed handrail. The first floor left hand room has a C19 devonian limestone chimneypiece with a cast iron grate. The small room behind has a smaller Devonian limestone chimneypiece with a gothic cast iron grate. C18 fielded 2 and 6-panel doors on the first floor and rear wing. Roof. of rear has cranked collars lapped to the faces of the principals which have halved apexes. An attractive essentially early C19 house which has been very little altered since the early C19.

Listing NGR: SX7365857523

External Links

• Wikidata Q26610590

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Recommended Books

• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)