Building record MDO47092 - Van Courtlands, Chamberlain Road, Chickerell

A house divided into two sections. To the west is a single bay two storey structure with a three light dormer window to the steeply pitched roof and two gable end stacks. It is built of rubble and ashlar with a slate roof. It was originally a terrace of three houses. It was converted into a single dwelling in circa 1836 by Mrs Van Courtland, widow of Captain Jacob Ugden Van Courtlands of the Welsh Fusiliers, killed in the Peninsular War.

No. 46 Chamberlain Road is depicted on the 1841 Tithe Map of Wyke Regis adjoining three cottages to the east, now two cottages known as Bindon Cottages. The tithe map also includes the former lodge, now No. 48 Chamberlain Road (Grade II) to the south of No. 46. The Plan of the Manor of Wyke Regis, circa 1803 depicts No. 46 Chamberlain Road and Bindon Cottages as one rectangular block and does not include the lodge to the south. The house is depicted on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (1866) and the footprint is largely unaltered, apart from the removal of an extension to the rear elevation which has been replaced with a late-20th century conservatory.

The house is known locally as Van Courtlands and structural work and research by Jacqueline Kane has revealed that the house is the amalgamation of three small cottages combined to form a gentleman's residence. Mrs Van Courtland, widow of Captain Jacob Ugden Van Courtlands of the Welsh Fusiliers, killed in the Peninsular War, carried out this work in circa 1836. There is a local history that the owners were once visited by the President of the United States of America which may be supported by the fact that the Van Courtlands family were prominent members of the New York mercantile class.

The principal elevation (south-east) of the house is divided into two sections. To the west is a single bay two storey structure with a three light dormer window to the steeply pitched roof and two gable end stacks. To the ground floor projects a late 20th century conservatory. To the right (east) is the three bay, two storey part of the house which shares a stack with the single bay to the west and has a further gable end stack to the east. The outer bays have two storey canted bays and there is a porch with a triangular pediment to the centre with box sash window above. The rear elevation (north-west) is again divided into two parts: to the east is the single bay two storey structure with a three light dormer window to the attic. The three bay part of the house has a first floor extension and is buttressed to the ground floor. The buttressing suggests that the ground floor is possibly built of cob, and may be evidence of a single storey outshut to accommodate an inserted winder staircase. To the original rear wall, now the passage, is a diagonal recess suggesting the location of the inserted staircase, now removed. The house is rendered and whitewashed. To the interior there is some good joinery including fitted shelves with reeded detail to the sitting room, hornless sash windows with shutters, six panel doors and architrave. To the single bay part of the house there is evidence of early joinery as indicated by the L-type hinges which are typically 17th century. Many of the round arched mid-19th century fireplaces survive. There is a sloped opening with an inserted grate to the wall of the attic of the single bay structure. This was probably a ventilation device, and the grate inserted at a later date. There have been significant losses to the interior, most notably the roof, which may have retained evidence of the earlier three houses, and the mid-19th century principal staircase. Other losses include some of the joinery and plasterwork. To the south of the plot are the remains of the rubble stone boundary wall and ashlar doorway leading to the house.

Houses that date from 1700-1840 surviving without substantial alteration will probably warrant listing, although some selection will be necessary for later, more standard designs. No. 46 Chamberlain Road is essentially a dramatic remodelling of three earlier cottages into a polite mid-19th century house. The principal elevation is competently handled with a symmetrical frontage attached to the single bay part of the building to the east. To the interior, much of the mid-19th century features survive including fireplaces, joinery and sash windows with shutters. There is also evidence of the earlier dwellings to the rear elevation which has evidence of a single storey buttressed cob outshut to house a winder staircase. The internal diagonal recess to the original rear wall supports this assertion. However, the mid-19th century remodelling of the house is standard and many of the internal features are typical rather than bespoke. There is also a notable lack of plasterwork, for example cornices, and the skirting boards are all 20th century. There have also been substantial losses including the principal staircase and the roof. The staircase is a re-orientated 20th century replacement; the roof was replaced in the late 20th century. These alterations have had a detrimental impact on the building's special interest, and although there is evidence of the earlier cottages in the fabric of the building, this is fragmentary. When No. 46 Chamberlain Road is compared with listed examples of mid-19th century houses with earlier origins it clearly lacks the necessary degree of intactness and architectural interest to warrant listing. Grade II listed examples include Prixford House, North Devon which is an 18th century house remodelled in the mid-19th century. It has an architecturally competent exterior which is little altered and retains its symmetrical composition. Internally it retains its 18th century dog-leg staircase and has a panelled room with a plastered ceiling. White Lodge, Taunton Deane, Somerset is a 17th century house which was enlarged and refronted in the early 19th century. To the interior are moulded plaster cornices and a 19th century staircase and there are fragmentary remains of the 17th century dwelling to the service rooms. It demonstrates a greater level of architectural competence to its principal facades with good architectural detailing including shaped brackets to the eaves, and moulded lintels on console brackets to the ground floor windows. No. 46 Chamberlain Road has, in comparison, a plain architectural treatment to the principal façade, with little embellishment. Its interior, similarly, lacks the architectural quality and intactness of listed examples. Furthermore, evidence of the earlier fabric is extremely fragmentary. No. 46 Chamberlain Road is certainly not without merits and is undoubtedly of strong local importance with the added interest of it being the home of the Van Courtland family. It is an attractive and competent remodelling of three cottages with some good joinery and fireplaces, but the loss of the 19th century staircase, the replacement of the roof in the late 20th century and the fragmentary survival of earlier fabric substantially impacts on the building's special interest. When judged on a national basis this house does not merit inclusion on the list. <1>

<1> English Heritage, English Heritage Listing File, Adviser's report on case 167362 (Scheduling record). SDO17502.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1498263 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 4:31PM