Grosvenor Lodge (later 1 Grosvenor Road) is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed building on Regent Street and

Grosvenor Road South Tyneside College is a large further education college in South Tyneside in North East England. Its main site is in the town of South Shields. The college offers part-time and full-time courses for young students and adults. It was formed i ...

, in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, North Wales. It was built in 1869 by J.R. Gummow and is in an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

style. It was initially a private residence for Isacc Shone, later

mayor of Wrexham The mayor of Wrexham is the civic figurehead and first citizen of the city of Wrexham, and Wrexham County Borough in the North Wales, north of Wales. The position is elected by members of Wrexham County Borough Council at their annual meeting, an ...

. It was purchased by Wrexham council in 1924, in which it became initially an office, then later a

medical clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

until the 1990s. It underwent a restoration in 2001.

History

The building is situated on the corner of Regent Street and Grosvenor Road, opposite

Wrexham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, also known as St Mary's Cathedral or Wrexham Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Wrexham, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Wrexham, and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of W ...

. Grosvenor Lodge was built in 1869 as a residence for Isaac Shone, who became

Mayor of Wrexham The mayor of Wrexham is the civic figurehead and first citizen of the city of Wrexham, and Wrexham County Borough in the North Wales, north of Wales. The position is elected by members of Wrexham County Borough Council at their annual meeting, an ...

in 1878. It was designed by J.R. Gummow, a local architect, who is credited with most of the suburban development in the southern parts of Wrexham in the 19th century. Shone lost his council seat in 1879 and thereafter vacated the residence and moved to London. It also served as the home of Robert Graesser and his family. In the early 1900s, the building became home to Wrexham's first female doctor, Katharine Rosebery Drinkwater, who moved to Wrexham, after her marriage to a local GP. She became the Assistant School Medical Officer for Wrexham in 1907. In 1924, the building was bought by Wrexham council from the executors of Shone's will. The council then repurposed the building to be first used as office space and then later as a health clinic until the 1990s. It was listed as a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

in 1991. In 2001, a full restoration of the building was carried out. As of 2024, the building is home to ''Cafcass Cymru''. Until 1959, the Royal Welch Fusiliers War Memorial stood outside the building until its relocation to Chester Street.

Description

The building is designed in a

style, which was described as "Anglo-Italian" by its architect Gummow. Its exterior is made of brick, while it contains a

slate roof Roofing slates are roofing tiles made out of slate. The rock is split into thin sheets which are cut to the requires size before shipment. This contrasts to slabs which are milled to produce larger structural components. They are the primary produ ...

. The lodge is two storeys high, with its main elevations being its two-window Regent Street entrance front, and a symmetrical five-window (in 1–3–1) range facing Regent Street. There is a lower

service wing Servants' quarters, also known as staff's quarters, are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic offices and staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the early 20th century, they wer ...

recessed to the building's rear containing

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...

, a side entrance, and above it a tripartite

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

, and moulded wood bracketed oversailing-

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

. After its initial construction a three-storeyed and hipped roof tower was added to the building. The building's entrance is located to the right of the building situated in an advanced porch and within a

segmental arch A segmental arch is a type of arch with a circular arc of less than 180 degrees. It is sometimes also called a scheme arch. The segmental arch is one of the strongest arches because it is able to resist Arch#Basic concepts, thrust. To prevent fai ...

way, shaped in a

round arch In architecture, a semicircular arch is an arch with an intrados (inner surface) shaped like a semicircle. This type of arch was adopted and very widely used by the Romans, thus becoming permanently associated with Roman architecture. Termino ...

with panelled double doors.

History

Description

See also

References

Further reading