Stone House is one of the oldest and most distinctive buildings in the
London Borough of Lewisham
Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throu ...
.
It was built between 1771 and 1773 by
George Gibson the younger, for himself.
It is
Grade II*
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
Listed.
The house has columns with capitals formed of leaves and florets, which are also used on St Mary's church in Lewisham, another of George Gibson's designs.
The land on which the house stands, originally known as "halfpenny's field", was purchased by Gibson in 1766. The site was then extended in 1768 when Gibson bought additional land known as "Morrice's land".
The building has such an idiosyncratic design that in the 19th century it was commonly known as the Comical House and several maps from the time labeled it as such. On three sides are full height projecting bay windows and on the fourth is a grand column portico which leads to the grounds. Originally the grounds extended on to Lewisham Way but now a wall separates the road from the grounds. The building is built from
Kentish Ragstone, a limey sandstone dating from the
Cretaceous period
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
. This stone gives the building a distinctive, rustic appearance.
References
Houses completed in 1773
Deptford
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