Survey Data
Reg No
50920252
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
House
In Use As
College
Date
1850 - 1870
Coordinates
315763, 232999
Date Recorded
27/08/2015
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Terraced two-bay four-storey over basement former townhouse, built 1862, now in use as school. M-profile pitched roof, concealed behind cogged red brick parapet with projecting brick eaves course on brick brackets and granite coping. Rendered chimneystacks with yellow clay pots to south party wall, parapet gutters and cast-iron rainwater goods to north-end. Red brick walls laid in Flemish bond with granite plinth course over snecked ashlar limestone walls to basement. Square-headed window openings, segmental-headed openings to third floor and basement; brick voussoirs, brick reveals and projecting granite sills; block-and-start brick surrounds to basement. Six-over-six sliding timber sashes, three-over-three to third floor, eight-over-four to basement having cast-iron guard affixed. Round-headed Romanesque-Revival door opening with brick voussoirs, engaged chevron ornamented colonnettes with foliate capitals, nail-headed archivolt and masked figurative keystone, stepped reveals with toothed and rope mouldings having foliate keystone. Ornate carved-timber pilasters supporting carved-timber fascia with ivy-leaf ornament and cornice, plain glass fanlight and timber panelled door with central beaded moulding. Granite entrance platform with cast-iron boot scraper and nosed granite steps, flanked by cast-iron railings on carved granite plinth, enclosing basement area to south. Cast-iron coal hole cover to pavement to front. Street-fronted, located on east side of Harcourt Street.
Appraisal
The completion of the nearby Harcourt Street Railway Station in 1859 provided further impetus for construction, particularly at the southern end of the street. This building forms part of a terrace of six built during this period. Characteristic of the time, they are enlivened by a higher level of ornamentation, including the cogged brick eaves course and variations in window openings, contrasting with the restrained facades of the earlier houses that dominate much of the streetscape. The elaborate Romanesque-style doorcase, with its decorative chevron and rope mouldings, is of particular note, significantly contributing to the character of the building. According to Casey (2005) 'Nos. 62-67....doubtless by Thomas Hall & Son, builders....Inside are beefy cornices and bosses and bird console brackets to the arches of the first-floor returns. The original brass hall rails (surviving in No. 67) had a wonderful profile like a faceted rope moulding'. Harcourt Street was opened 1777 by John Hatch, barrister and Seneschal of the Manor of St. Sepulchre. Development was sporadic until the late 1790s when Messrs Hatch, Wade and Whitten obtained approval from the Wide Street Commissioners for the further development of the street.