Combermere House, or 148 Hospital Street, is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

town house in

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

, Cheshire, England, which dates from the mid-18th century. It is on the south side of Hospital Street (at ), near the end of the street and opposite the junction with Millstone Lane. The building has previously been known by other street numbers, including number 154. It is listed at grade II, and local historian Jane Stevenson describes it as "sheer perfection". The end of Hospital Street contains many notable buildings. Combermere House is adjacent to Churche's Mansion, an Elizabethan mansion which is listed at grade I. It stands opposite The Rookery and near numbers 116 and 140–142, other town houses of Georgian appearance; however, unlike these buildings, there is no evidence that Combermere House incorporates a 15th or 16th century structure. Combermere House is believed to stand near the site of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Hospital of St Nicholas, which gives Hospital Street its name.Hall, pp. 5, 48–53

History

The building was constructed in the mid-18th century. In the 1890s, it was remodelled by local architect Thomas Bower, who lived nearby at 140–142 Hospital Street. It was formerly used as a private school, known as Nuthurst Garden School. It acquired the name Combermere House in June 1962.

Description

Combermere House is a substantial detached building, set a little back from the street behind a narrow garden. It has four bays and two storeys, in red brick with stone dressings under a tiled roof. The front façade is asymmetrical; there is a single-bay projection bay on the left, which is topped with a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

with a stone

coping Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

. The remainder of the façade is three bays wide, with a central entrance.

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

praises the "pretty classical doorway".Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 288 The stone doorcase, described as "good" by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in the listing, has Ionic columns; there is a semicircular fanlight with a

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

above. The sash windows to the front face all have stone

lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of ...

with decorative keystones. The building retains two old lead rainwater heads.

References

Sources *Hall J. ''A History of the Town and Parish of Nantwich, or Wich Malbank, in the County Palatine of Chester'' (2nd edn) (E. J. Morten; 1972) () *Pevsner N, Hubbard E. ''The Buildings of England: Cheshire'' (Penguin Books; 1971) () *Stevenson PJ. ''Nantwich: A Brief History and Guide'' (1994) {{coord, 53.0655, -2.5146, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Houses completed in the 18th century Nantwich, Combermere House Houses in Nantwich

History

Description

See also

References