This is the second of a series of building reports that will appear in the Newsletter from time to time. They will give short accounts of buildings that have been recorded and detailed reports will be published later.

There are four main phases to the development of this house, the first two are of late 18th century date, followed by early 19th century work, and finally there are modern additions.

It is difficult to trace the junction between the two phases of 18th century date, and at first these were thought to be of one build, but examination of the roof construction indicated the two phases of construction. The earliest is the left hand half of the main block and would originally have comprised of two rooms on each floor plus a cellar. At the rear a hipped end projects slightly from the main roof indicating the original width. In the front bay there are vertically sliding shutters to all windows.

The construction of the right hand half of the main block closely followed and, like phase 1, it has a canted bay, but there are only vertical shutters to the ground floor. This addition doubled the above ground size of the house.

Phase 3 was constructed of red bricks, while previously brown bricks had been used. This addition provided a new entrance and stair and is located to the left of phase 1 at the rear of the modern gabled section. The stairs start with a fine curtail step and gracefully turn through 180°. There are gentle curves in all the angles, and the mahogany bannister sweeps up to the first floor building. At this time, if not before, the walls were rendered externally and marked to indicate stonework; this has mostly been replaced with pebbledash.

The modern additions to Woodgates include the gabled section to the left of the main block, and two extensions at the rear. It is understood that the new owners intend to restore the house and erect two ‘Georgian’ houses in the garden to the right of the property.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Ian J. West