Combermere House, Nantwich
Encyclopedia
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
town house in Nantwich
Nantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England, which dates from the mid 18th century. It is located on the south side of Hospital Street (at ), near the end of the street and opposite the junction with Millstone Lane. The building has previously been known by other street numbers, including number 154. It is listed at grade II, and local historian Jane Stevenson describes it as "sheer perfection".
The end of Hospital Street contains many notable buildings. Combermere House is adjacent to Churche's Mansion
Churche's Mansion
Churche's Mansion is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan mansion house at the eastern end of Hospital Street in Nantwich, Cheshire, England...
, an Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
mansion which is listed at grade I. It stands opposite The Rookery
The Rookery, Nantwich
The Rookery, or 125 Hospital Street, is a substantial Georgian townhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It is located at the end of Hospital Street, on the north side, at the junction with Millstone Lane . The existing building dates from the mid 18th century and is listed at grade II; English...
and near numbers 116
116 Hospital Street, Nantwich
116 Hospital Street is a substantial townhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the south side of Hospital Street . It is listed at grade II. The present building, of Georgian appearance, incorporates an earlier timber-framed house, which probably dates in part from the 15th century...
and 140–142
140–142 Hospital Street, Nantwich
140–142 Hospital Street, sometimes known as Hospital House, is a substantial townhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the south side of Hospital Street . The building is listed at grade II. It was built in the late 16th century by John Crewe, a tanner, whose sons Randolph and Thomas...
, other town houses of Georgian appearance; however, unlike these buildings, there is no evidence that Combermere House incorporates a 15th or 16th century structure. Combermere House is believed to stand near the site of the medieval Hospital of St Nicholas
Hospital of St Nicholas, Nantwich
The Hospital of St Nicholas was a medieval hospital for travellers, which gave its name to Hospital Street in the English town of Nantwich in Cheshire...
, which gives Hospital Street its name.
History
The building was constructed in the mid 18th century. In the 1890s, it was remodelled by local architect Thomas BowerThomas Bower
Thomas Bower was an English architect and surveyor based in Nantwich, Cheshire. He worked in partnership with Ernest H. Edleston at the Nantwich firm, Bower & Edleston, which he founded in 1854. He is particularly associated with the Gothic Revival style of architecture.In 1883, Bower was living...
, who lived nearby at 140–142 Hospital Street
140–142 Hospital Street, Nantwich
140–142 Hospital Street, sometimes known as Hospital House, is a substantial townhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the south side of Hospital Street . The building is listed at grade II. It was built in the late 16th century by John Crewe, a tanner, whose sons Randolph and Thomas...
. It was formerly used as a private school, known as Nuthurst Garden School. It did not acquire the name Combermere House until the late 20th century.
Description
Combermere House is a substantial detached building, set a little back from the street behind a narrow garden. It has four bays and two storeys, in red brick with stone dressings under a tiled roof. The front façade is asymmetrical; there is a single-bay projection bay on the left, which is topped with a parapetParapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with a stone coping
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
. The remainder of the façade is three bays wide, with a central entrance.
Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
praises the "pretty classical doorway". The stone doorcase, described as "good" by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
in the listing, has Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns; there is a semicircular fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
with a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
above. The sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s to the front face all have stone lintels
Post and lintel
Post and lintel, or in contemporary usage Post and beam, is a simple construction method using a lintel, header, or architrave as the horizontal member over a building void supported at its ends by two vertical columns, pillars, or posts...
with decorative keystones
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
. The building retains two old lead rainwater heads.
Sources
- Hall J. A History of the Town and Parish of Nantwich, or Wich Malbank, in the County Palatine of Chester (2nd edn) (E. J. Morten; 1972) (ISBN 0-901598-24-0)
- Pevsner N, Hubbard E. The Buildings of England: Cheshire (Penguin Books; 1971) (ISBN 0-14-071042-6)
- Stevenson PJ. Nantwich: A Brief History and Guide (1994)