House, Castle Road, Stafford

HOUSE AT STAFFORD—This house has a good situation facing Castle Road, Stafford, standing on rising ground with a fair expanse of country in front and around. The front faces south, the entrance being to the north. The south front looks upon the garden, which is treated with side terraces raised above the centre, which is also terraced and will eventually be completed with terrace walls and central steps; below will be an orchard, through which will be approached the tennis lawn. The outside walls are faced with a 2-in. Staffordshire brick, hard burnt, of broken purple and grey red tones; the stone is Bath. All the roofs are flat, formed of concrete and steel, and covered with Medusa cement with fairly good falls; the roof water is collected first in roof tanks for domestic purposes before being allowed to run to waste. The interior is finished with plaster, dining and drawing room having marble slab mantels. The hall will eventually be panelled in mahogany; the ceiling is groined in plaster. The whole of the woodwork is painted white and finished with enamel. The lighting is with gas, as the authorities declined to bring the electric main up to the house. The main contract has been carried out by Espley & Sons of Stafford, sanitary fittings being supplied by Doulton & Co. Saunders & Taylor of Manchester fitted up the heating, which is by radiators. Casements were supplied by George Wragge of Salford, and James Jones of Manchester supplied and fixed the lead-lights. Grates were supplied by Longden & Co., and Arthur Lee, Bros. & Co., of Hayes, supplied the special marble for the mantelpieces. [Recent English Domestic Architecture (2), 1909, pages 190-195].

Reference           Architectural Review special issue: Recent English Domestic Architecture (2), 1909. Mervyn E Macartney Editor.  Page 190-195 with illustrations