house

Attached two-bay four-storey over basement former townhouse, built c. 1820, possibly as a pair with adjoining building to north (50930122). Three-stage return to rear (east) elevation. Now in use as offices. M-profiled slate roof, hipped to south, concealed by refaced brick parapet with granite coping, parapet gutters and pair of rendered shouldered chimneystacks to north party wall with lipped yellow clay pots. Red brick walling laid in Flemish bond over rendered walling to basement beneath painted granite plinth course. Square-headed window openings with brick voussoirs, patent reveals and masonry sills, granite surrounds to basement. Decorative cast-iron balconettes to second, first and ground floors and cast-iron grille affixed to basement sill. Multiple paned timber sliding sashes largely without horns; one-over-one early-twentieth century replacements with ogee horns to ground and first floors, six-over-six to second floor, three-over-three to third floor with convex horns and eight-over-eight to basement. Round-headed door opening brick voussoirs, moulded reveals and recessed rendered surround containing prostyle portico with fluted frieze and moulded cornice carried on Ionic columns over plinth stops, replacement leaded petal fanlight and timber panelled door with brass furniture. Granite entrance platform approached by seven granite steps flanked by iron railings with decorative corner posts on granite plinth, enclosing basement to north-side. Coal-hole cover to pavement. Two-storey recent mews building to rear plot. Rendered wall with brick coping, lining east boundary on Lad Lane, pierced by elliptical-headed carriage-arch with steel gates.

Mary Bryan (2006) attributes the building of Nos. 9-12 to Nathaniel Calwell. Despite the insertion of some replacement fabric, No. 12 forms part of a relatively intact late-Georgian streetscape. Laid out in 1791 by the surveyors J & P Roe, Fitzwilliam Square was the last of the city’s Georgian squares to be completed. Development was staggered, progressing slowly until after the Napoleonic Wars, and the vast majority of houses were completed on the eastern side of the square between 1816-22. Although largely homogeneous in character and form, the subtle variations between terraces are indicative of the speculative nature of the Square’s development.