Building Name

Kildare Lodge (Doctor’s House) 18 Townsend Road Minehead Somerset

Date
1905 - 1907
Street
18 Townsend Road
District/Town
Minehead
County/Country
Somerset, England
Partnership
Client
Dr Gordon Henry
Work
New Build
Listed
Grade II*

Reference    The Craftsman Volume XIX Number 1, October 1910 pages 44-54. Barry Parker Modern Country Homes in England Number Seven

Illustration    Kildare Lodge View from Road, Stable Court Craftsman Oct 1910 p45
Illustration    Kildare Lodge, Stair and Dining Room Living Room,  Craftsman Oct 1910 p46
Illustration    Kildare House first floor plan; Second floor plan 48,

LISTING TEXT - House, now a hotel. 1903 by Barry Parker for Mr Corbett and Dr Gordon Henry. Painted roughcast over brick or rubblestone, plain tile roof with brick stack to centre of front slope, ridge stack to the rear left wing and gable-end stack to the right wing. U-shaped plan. Arts and Crafts style. 2 storeys; 2-window range. The steeply-pitched roof has deep overhanging eaves which project at the sides and centre where it forms a porch over a large stepped semicircular-arched entrance. The half dormer between the centre and left projection has 6-light leaded casement windows. To the right there is a roofed archway, in which there is a dormer window with hipped tile roof and roof cheeks, connecting to the otherwise separate right wing. In the archway is a pair of tall cast-iron gates. Most other windows are wood-mullioned and transomed with leaded panes; to far left is a 2-storey convex curved window reaching to the eaves. To the right of it is a semi-elliptical recess in which a low 3-sided plinth to the left supports similar but smaller windows with a seat to the right. The left return has a weather-boarded gable to the right over 2 tall windows similar to that at the front. The rear has 2 projecting gables from the left wing all in keeping with the rest of the design except for a flat-roofed extension to the rear of the main building. The windows to the rear wings reflect the general style. INTERIOR: a complete and fine example of Parker's work, which includes stairs to rear centre, now cased in, with stick balusters, some wide and fretted, leading to a curved landing with similar balusters. The dining room to the left is open to the rafters, with a glazed balcony from the stairs, a large recess containing an open fire with a cast-iron grate and elaborate cupboards with ornamental copper hinges over the lintel. To the rear are steps up to a smaller room with curved planked doors. Mullions, etc, are carved in Art Nouveau style. To the first floor are planked doors with small windows.