Marsville House

Detached two-bay two-storey house, c.1880, with single-bay two-storey gabled projecting bay to left, single-bay two-storey lower return to rear to north-west, two-bay two-storey lower parallel return to rear to west (continuing to form recessed end bay to south-west) and three-bay single-storey wing to south-west. Renovated and refenestrated, c.1990, with wing converted to use as offices. Gable-ended roofs with slate (gabled to projecting bays; gabled to window openings to return to north-west in style of half-dormer attic). Red clay crested ridge tiles. Rendered and red brick chimney stacks. Overhanging timber eaves. Profiled timber bargeboards to gables with finials to apexes. Replacement uPVC rainwater goods, c.1990. Roughcast walls. Painted. Square-headed openings. Stone sills. Replacement uPVC casement windows, c.1990. Replacement render doorcase, c.1990, with consoles and pediment. Replacement timber panelled door. Set back from road in own landscaped grounds. Tarmacadam drive and forecourt/carpark to front.Detached five-bay single-storey outbuilding, c.1880, to south-west. Now disused. Gable-ended roof with slate. Red clay ridge tiles. Red brick chimney stack. Timber eaves. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast walls. Painted. Square-headed openings. No sills. All openings boarded-up.Freestanding cast-iron waterpump, c.1905, to south-west comprising cylindrical shaft with raised horizontal banding, fluted upper section with fluted spout having acanthus leaf motif and 'cow-tail' handle having finial. Now disused with cap missing.Gateway, c.1880, to south-east comprising pair of rendered piers with roughcast curved flanking walls. Gates now gone.

Marsville (House) is a fine and well-maintained substantial house that retains much of its original character. The massing of the house is somewhat unusual, with a generously proportioned main block having lower returns to the north-west with first floors treated as half-dormer attics. The result of the varying roof levels, together with the numerous gables and a number of tall chimney stacks, is the articulation of the skyline, and the house is an attractive and prominent feature in the locality. The house retains many of its original features and materials, including slate roofs with decorative ridges – the re-instatement of timber fenestration might restore a more accurate representation of the original appearance of the house. The house is complemented by a small outbuilding range to south-west, which, although disused, retains most of its original fabric. Also of interest is the waterpump, which appears to remain in its original location – as with the communal waterpump to the east of the village (11815004/KD-19-15-04), this example is of technical and artistic significance, having been conceived as a functional and aesthetic piece. Attractively set in its own grounds, the house is announced on the side of the road in the heart of the village by a simple gateway, which forms an unassuming landmark on the streetscape.