Description

PUDSEY

1168/0/10009 CARR ROAD
12-NOV-10 CALVERLEY
70
GREY GABLES

II
House, 1901-3, built for Samuel Margerison, botanist and local historian.

MATERIALS: shaped dressed stone in random courses, stone slate roofs in diminishing courses and decorative half-timbering to some of the upper floors.

PLAN: the house has an L-shaped plan, with the two principal rooms along the long axis to the rear (north) and a hallway and corridor in front, and kitchen extending forwards to the right. In the internal angle of the L is a full height gabled entrance bay. At the (east) side is a boiler/utility room. It has two storeys plus attic floor and basement.

EXTERIOR: the south-facing entrance front has a projecting (kitchen) bay to the right with a single window to either side of a porch with mono-pitch roof and French windows (added). At first floor level is a mullioned window to the left, and at second floor a centrally placed small three-light mullioned window. The left return has a single first floor window, and an externally expressed chimney back rising to a tall triple stack with decorated flues set at 45 degrees. There are stone gargoyles at the ends of the gutters on either side of the gable end. To the left of this bay is the gabled entrance bay which has an open porch with a shouldered arch inscribed SM to the left and 1901 to the right, with drip mould over extending over a single light window on the right with stained glass. Above, the bay is half-timbered and the single windows to first and second floors have timber mullions and transoms. The bargeboards of the gable are supported by carved brackets. The door is approached up a flight of stone steps edged with low stone walls, and there is a stepped corner buttress at ground floor level. To the left again is a further bay with stone below and timbering above; the window at ground floor has a stone mullion and that at first floor a timber mullion. Decoratively carved brackets support the roof. In the corner at the side of the entrance bay is a small lantern window, leaded and with stained glass, supported on a metal corbel and there is a similar stained glass window in the side wall of the entrance bay.

The main west elevation is gabled and half timbered above the ground floor. The ground floor has a central projecting bay with two adjoining two-light stone mullioned windows. Carved wooden brackets with stone corbels support the jettied first floor, which has a six-light timber mullioned and transomed window to the left and a narrow transomed window to the right. There is a four-light timber mullioned window to the second floor.

The rear (north) elevation has two massive externally expressed chimney backs, the right hand one stepped on the left side and with two small adjacent windows at ground floor level. The right hand rises to a double stack and the left to a triple stack, both similar to that at the front. Between the two chimneys are scattered windows at ground and first floor, with additional mullioned windows at basement level. A low gable rises between the chimneys at second floor level, with a door leading to a balcony which has a carved wooden balustrade supported on stone corbels. To either side of the chimneys is a half-timbered element at first floor level with stone below; that to the left has a stone mullioned window at ground floor and a single light above and that to the right a single light at first floor.

The east elevation has a gabled element to the rear, with stone below and half timbering to the first and second floors. A four-light stone mullioned window to the right and a door to the left at ground floor are topped by two timber mullioned and transomed windows at first floor and a single mullioned window at second floor. The wooden plank door has a rectangular overlight with stained glass and large decoratively carved wrought iron hinges. To the left the utility/boiler room projects from the main wall; it is lower than the rest of the house and is in plainer style with flat face mullions. It has two small windows on the north side, a double end stack, and on the south side has a door and a three-light stone mullioned window with two small two-light windows to the first floor: these have later wooden sashes. Forward of the utility block on the side of the main house is a door and two-light stone mullioned window above.

INTERIOR: the open stone porch has a stained glass window, incorporating the Leeds owl, to the left side and a stone seat on the right side with a carved thistle motif overhead. The floor is tiled and the main door is in oak with a tripartite stained glass overlight and heavy iron door furniture internally. The entrance vestibule within is lit by the lantern window and a 'borrowed light' window in an Art Nouveau style. Wood and glass doors and screens lead into the hall which is entirely panelled in oak, including some reused, reportedly C17, wainscotting and incorporating earlier hinges. The hall runs east-west through the house, with drawing and dining rooms off to the rear and cloakroom off to the right, with the main stairs rising on the right side. Between the dining room and drawing room doors is a recess housing a built-in telephone table. The doors all have nine panels in three rows of two and a top row of three, and door handles are of an individual design in brass. The floor is in herringbone pattern terracotta tiles and the ceiling in oak boards. The stair has pierced splat balusters in oak, and the newel extends as a square post rising to the ceiing. The large cloakroom is entirely tiled in original buff, green and brown tiles. The drawing room is panelled to dado height and has a panelled sgraffito frieze above featuring foliage, birds and butterflies. The fine oak floorboards are designed to fit the room, including a fillet to reflect the inset door. The fireplace is set into an inglenook and has a wooden surround with SM, 1903, and DULCE DOMUM! inscribed over the top. The interior is tiled in brown and green glazed tiles with two small stained glass windows and a decorative brass hood and fender. There are several fitted window seats and an original fitted oak dresser with wrought iron furniture. The dining room is also half panelled and has patterned oak flooring. The fireplace has a stone 'Minster' style surround and patterned brick interior. The kitchen, on the east side of the house in the forward projecting bay, has an ornate cast iron fire surround for a former range, set into a shallow inglenook with a beam over. Opposite are full height built-in original oak cupboards with individual brass handles. French windows to the south are a later addition. The boiler room, in the eastern extension of the house, is fully tiled in original buff, green and brown glazed tiles. The side door has individual wrought iron decorative hinges and latch. A stair by the kitchen leads to the basement which has four full-height rooms.

The main stair leads to the first floor with a wide corridor; a stair window at the half landing has stained glass depicting birds above and fish below. All four bedroom doors have individual door knockers. The bedroom over the kitchen has a marble fire surround with glazed tile interior, dentilled cornice and curved fluting on the corners of the chimney breast, repeated in other rooms. The north-east corner bedroom has a tiled fireplace of 1950s design, while that at the north-west has a carved wooden fire surround incorporating a mirror over the mantelpiece. The wood mullioned window is a modern replacement in original style. A former linen room has been converted to a shower room, and the house bathroom, with modern suite, is over the boiler room. A second stair with pierced wooden splat balusters leads to the second floor which has a suite of rooms in the half attic. The central room has access to a balcony with decorative wooden rail (partly replaced) via a door with decorative hinges and handle, and there are original built-in storage cupboards. A third staircase to the east leads to a former servant's room with plain fitted cupboards and doors.

HISTORY:The architect is not known, but the house was commissioned for a well-known botanist and local historian, Samuel Margerison who had a keen interest in historic buildings and the Arts and Crafts movement. Datestones on the exterior are of 1901, while that over the drawing room fireplace is 1903. Only minor alterations have taken place since its construction, apart from the conversion of the former coach-house to a separate dwelling and the construction of a detached garage. The former coach house has been heavily altered and is not of special interest in the national context.

SETTING: The house is set in grounds of c.3/4 acre which surround it on all sides with landscaped gardens, and is approached from a curving drive. Stone walls extending from the house form part of the landscaping along with rockeries and flagged terraces. The detached garage is not of interest.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
Grey Gables, 70 Carr Road, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It is a substantial, individually designed house in the Arts and Crafts tradition, displaying many characteristic features of the style and clearly designed specifically for the owner
* The quality of materials and craftsmanship both internally and externally is very high, and maintained throughout
* It contains a number of unique features such as reused panelling, wrought iron and brass door furniture, sgraffito freize, fitted furniture and fireplaces
* It is remarkably intact, with very few alterations from its original form and decor, with the original layout and functions of rooms maintained
* The setting of the house, with original landscaped gardens, enhances its character.

Reasons for Listing

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External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675009

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

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living