The Clock House

Description

This information is taken from the statutory List as it was in 2001 and may not be up to date.

MAZE HILL 1.

5204 (West Side) St Leonards The Clock House TQ 7909 21/200B 19.1.51.

II* 2.

Designed by Decimus Burton or otherwise built by James Burton as part of his original layout of St Leonards in 1828. A very curious house in early Gothic revival style.

Its main front faces the original subscription gardens, now St Leonards Gardens, and backs up against the hill. The entrance is on the east side, and the difference between the levels on the east and west sides is so great that the front door is actually on the 2nd floor. The ground plan consists of a centre portion of 3 storeys with a small projection in the centre and 2 flanking wings. But the latter are only 2 storeys high and are not visible from the east side. Seen from this entrance side the building is designed to give the appearance of a cruciform church wider than it is long with a small tower at the west end. It is built of sandstone ashlar. The east front of which only one storey is visible above ground, is surmounted by a parapet enriched with quatrefoil ornaments and with diagonally set buttresses at corners carried up to pinnacles with a plain parapet sloping up from these to the centre parapet. Dripstone and shield over the doorway. There are no windows in this front but the recessed transept portions have blocked pointed window spaces with dripstones over in their east walls. On the west front facing the garden there are 3 storeys with the tower forming a small projection in the centre. This has buttresses at its angles rising to tall pinnacles (only one of which remains) a 2-light pointed window on the ground floor, a shield and quatrefoil panel above this, then on the 2nd floor a 3-light pointed window with a panel above it of arcading containing 5 pointed arches and at the top a clock face in a diamond panel. The north and south faces of the tower are similar. On each side of the tower is a recessed portion of one window bay containing a 2-light pointed window on the ground and 2nd floors, and a square-headed casement window on the 1st floor, with a cornice over it. These window bays are flanked by buttresses carried up to pinnacles. Flanking these window bays are the "transept" portions not on this side further recessed but flush with the latter. They have no windows, a cornice above the 1st floor carried out to form a corbel bracket on each side, on which stands a statue in a niche with a pointed head and dripstone over; cornice and parapet above.

Listing NGR: TQ7992409053

Content

This is part of the Series: IOE01/1664 IOE Records taken by Clive Read; within the Collection: IOE01 Images Of England

Rights

© Mr Clive Read. Source: Historic England Archive

This photograph was taken for the Images of England project