Latest Images by Stephen Richards http://www.geograph.org.uk/ 2013-05-25T20:22:59GMT text/html 2013-05-24T20:27:52GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 55.035243 -1.612732 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3474518 Built as Gosforth House, 1755-64, for Charles Brandling, M.P. and coal magnate. The architect was James Paine. The open pediment, floating cornice above the top central window and curved blind balustrades to the first floor end windows are common motifs in Paine's architecture. Grade II* listed. The house and environs were subsumed into the racecourse in 1881, since when the house has endured some hard times, but it now looks in reasonable shape. The interior was burnt by suffragettes in 1914. Naturally it now also caters for weddings, the vows of which one hopes never refer to obeying the husband. text/html 2013-05-24T20:15:23GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 54.964447 -1.808019 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3474499 A seven-bay house of c1750, built for John Simpson, a Newcastle merchant. Grade II* listed. The distant buildings probably belong to Heddon-on-the-Wall. text/html 2013-05-24T20:08:26GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 54.952465 -1.703151 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3474489 A house with a troubled gestation, birth, and, as can be seen from the photo, a troubled middle-age/youth (depending on how long it lives). James Paine provided a design in 1758 for Sir Thomas Clavering. At that time a top London architect might rarely, or even never, visit a site, hence the importance of a competent local executant builder-architect (in this case John Bell of Durham, whose competence might be in question). Clavering fancied himself as an amateur architect and decided that he could improve upon Paine's design, Bell could clearly only defer to him and so the final product was not as Paine intended, a situation he complained about bitterly in a later publication of his works. Grade II* listed. Having lain empty for at least twenty years, since this photo was taken I understand the house and grounds have been acquired by developers who are slowly converting it into flats. text/html 2013-05-23T21:32:40GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.174991 -0.444565 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3473274 Distinguished more than anything by its materials, predominantly terracotta, much favoured by its architects, Ernest George and Harold Peto, and client, a Doulton (e.g. see [[[1335489]]]). The small tower is balanced by the three sharp gables. Built 1885. Grade II listed. Now the private Duke of Kent school. The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T21:22:46GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.316674 -0.362433 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3473253 A sprawling Victorian house bristling with the usual panoply of towers, gables and chimneys, not to mention some bonus half-timbering. By Rowland Plumbe, 1886. Grade II listed. Now the eponymous hotel. The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T21:17:36GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.293806 -0.224837 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3473236 A good example of the c1700 country house with its symmetry, hipped roof and dormers, but more sophisticated than most. Grand pedimented centrepiece. Grade I listed. It is now owned by the Children's Trust, "a national charity providing rehabilitation, care and education to children with acquired brain injury, multiple disabilities and complex health needs." The date of the photo is uncertain. Much more info here: [[[1056960]]]. text/html 2013-05-23T21:09:21GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.187671 -0.571494 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3473214 A truly elephantine country house which pretty much defies stylistic classification as, not uncommonly for Victorians, there was a drive to cram in as many details as possible. But not willy-nilly as it all hangs together. It was begun in 1868 and extended by Ralph Nevill in 1887. Grade II listed. Inevitably it has been converted into flats, high end as a three-bedroom flat is around the £1.4 million mark (2013). The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T20:59:12GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.213125 -0.804651 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3473188 A striking early Georgian house, dated 1718, its character provincial Baroque. Pevsner considered it "one of the finest cut brick facades in the country", but was exasperated by everything being emphasised, "the total effect ... as it would be if the facade was quite plain." It now houses the Farnham Museum. The date of the photo is uncertain. Beyond is [[[3473171]]], and there is a shapely vintage car in front. I know my Classical orders but classic cars are beyond me. text/html 2013-05-23T20:53:00GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.213128 -0.804937 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3473171 A very fine Georgian house of 1757 complete with grand Doric doorcase and much emphasis on the central bay. Pevsner called it "impressive but cold-hearted". Grade II* listed. It is currently home to the Surrey Translation Bureau, a "translation provider serving clients from a wide range of industries." The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T18:46:28GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.186679 -0.662531 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3472925 A work of the august Sir William Chambers, 1765-68. The top storey, which is fine, belongs to work of 1913 (together with the right-hand extension), but the porch is an uncharacteristically hamfisted job by Charles Robert Cockerell, 1843. Grade I listed. It was converted into flats in 1998. The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T18:37:47GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.252343 -0.049313 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3472915 Aka Rooksnest. Late C18th, altered early C19th. It has a portico of four Ionic columns. Grade II listed. I believe this is now a hotel and the green in front has succumbed to those who like to spoil a good walk. The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T18:30:04GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.234729 -0.267221 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3472908 A very plain early C18th front to, the listing says, a C16th core. Grade II* listed. The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T18:26:41GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.270751 -0.338978 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3472903 A stately house splendidly sited atop the North Downs. Originally of 1774, by Thomas Sandby for William Lane, but its current external appearance owing more to the stuccoing and other work of c1840. Grade II* listed. The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-23T18:14:03GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.171857 -0.640502 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3472889 An attractive early Georgian house, dated 1730, with window aprons, characteristic of provincial Baroque. The top storey probably belongs to later C18th work. Grade II listed. In 1983, when a hotel, it was gutted by fire, and has since been converted to flats. At the time of writing (2013) a two-bedroom apartment was on the market for £400K. The date of the photo is uncertain. text/html 2013-05-22T20:39:12GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/34784 Stephen Richards 51.286060 -0.284363 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3471664 By E.P. Warren, 1910. Neo-Jacobean with lots of shaped gables and chimneystacks. Grade II listed. It is now the home of the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Unit. The date of the photo is uncertain.