Building record 1899/0/7 - The Flaggs and Hamilton House

<1> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 55752 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Pair of houses: dated 1756 on rain head, later extensions to rear. Flemish bond orange brick with buff sandstone dressings. Welsh slate roof and three brick chimneys. Single-pile plan. Three-storey, symmetrical eight-bay front. Stone plinth with access to cellars. Rusticated stone quoins, moulded cornice and plain blocking course. Windows are twelve-pane sashes, ground floor recessed, remainder cased and flush, top storeys six-pane sashes. These have rusticated stone heads with raised key blocks (moulded over the doors) and stone sills. Third and sixth bays have moulded wooden doorcases with panelled reveals. To the left is a segmental pediment, to the right a triangular one. These contain six-panelled doors approached by two stone steps. The houses are divided by a central drainpipe with 1756 on the rain head. The small front gardens have low brick walls with chamfered stone copings and simple iron railings. Each house has a gateway with square piers and capstones and small wrought iron gates.

Interior: Hamilton House: entry into narrow hall with semi-circular archway with raised key block and imposts. Only two main rooms with staircase to rear. Drawing room has an original fireplace with rilled pilasters and a simple frieze containing a modern grate. Dogleg stair with square newels has crisscross balustrade in manner of Chinese Chippendale staircases. Many of the doors are of two fielded panels in simple surrounds, with some later four and six-panelled doors. Extensive cellars.

The Flaggs: hall has segmental arch on fluted pilasters. Main room has bold egg and dart moulded cornice, fluted centre, and eighteenth century fireplace from Tarvin Hall. Room to right less ornate cornice. Open well pine staircase has three column balusters per tread, column newels and curving handrail. Carved acanthus on open string. Moulded cornices in upper rooms, one with moulded beams. Later four-panelled doors below, doors and cupboards with two fielded panels in top storey.

Dr A Gomme (unpublished) shows the very close comparison of this pair with the north side of Abbey Square, Chester, which are contemporary though a little grander. He believes they were built by the same lessee, Taylor.

<2> Hartwell C, Hyde M, Hubbard E & Pevsner N, 2011, The Buildings of England: Cheshire (2011 revision), p.625 (Book). SCH7059.

A pair of houses dated 1756. Brick and two and a half storeys high and each of four bays. Differing pediments over the doorways.