Clifton Hill Coach House: Grade II

A rare architectural gem

The Coach House was built in 1852 for the owner of No 5 Powis Villas, Mr J R Browne. According to the deeds he purchased additional land from the original vendor on which to build his coach house. The pediment was embellished with architectural details because it was visible from his house and garden. The building is a substantially intact and rare survival of a coach house to a mid C19 villa, with a mixture of vernacular building materials to one side and polite architectural and sculptural features to the end.

Clifton Hill Coach House

Clifton Hill Coach House

Original coach opening intact

The north east elevation has three round-headed windows with metal glazing bars and a blocked window. There is a full-height original coach opening with double plank doors, each embellished by original cast iron dog’s heads within cast iron ovolo (convex) moulded circles. To the left, under the blocked window is a lower double door, probably inserted after 1937 when the building was used for motor repairs.

Clifton Hill Coach House

Clifton Hill Coach House

Sculptural embellishments

The north-west end has a curved pediment and two end full-height square piers. This facade has a number of sculptural embellishments added to enhance the view from the owner’s house. These include a bust of a man in C17 armour on the left pier, a winged lion along coping, a large central roundel of a lion in the pediment and four relief heads, three female and one male, which may represent the Four Seasons.