York Historic Environment Record

Town house, now offices. c1710, remodelled later and extended in C19; restored c1950. For William Cornwall, Sheriff 1700, Lord Mayor 1712, 1725. MATERIALS: basement of magnesian limestone, upper floors of orange-red brick in Flemish bond; ground floor of Cumberland Street front stuccoed and lined to resemble ashlar; raised and chamfered quoins and dressings of ashlar; timber eaves cornice; hipped roof of tile with segment-gabled dormers and brick stacks. EXTERIOR: entrance in Cumberland Street, which has 2 storeys on moulded basement plinth, and 4 windows. Basement opening with shouldered head and keyed tripartite lintel breaks plinth at left end: to right of door, shuttered opening in plain surround with flat lintel. Doorcase towards at right of centre has sunk panel pilasters beneath open segmental pediment on enriched bulbous consoles, and panelled double doors with tall overlight in eared bolection-moulded architrave. Ground and first floor windows are 18-pane sashes with moulded stone sills, those on ground floor with incised wedge lintels, on first floor with flat arches of gauged brick. Raised first floor band, lower arris chamfered, and plain eaves frieze. King's Staith front: basement, 2 storeys and attic; 5-bays. Basement has wide doorway with shouldered lintel, between iron grilled openings in raised round-arched surrounds with keyblocks and imposts. All upper floor windows are 18-pane sashes with moulded stone sills, some renewed: all except centre windows have flat arches of gauged brick. Centre windows have prominent architraves, that on first floor over an apron. Moulded first floor cornice, and oversailing eaves cornice on bold modillions over moulded frieze, both returned at right end. Rear largely obscured by adjacent buildings. First floor windows to rear of right wing are 18-pane sashes. Attic windows are 3-light Yorkshire sashes in altered elliptical arched openings. Gabled eaves have 3-course brick bands. INTERIOR: ground floor: stone stairs rise from front door, beneath partitioned ceiling with moulded cornices. At the stair head, two keyed round arches on sunk panel pilasters with moulded imposts and panelled soffits and spandrels: right arch blocked by window, the left closed by glazed door. Entrance hall has bolection-moulded fireplace with duck-nest grate and chimneybreast cupboard with 3-panel door on H-hinges. 4-panel door in hollow moulded architrave leads to small front room, and keyed round arch on fluted Doric
pilasters with panelled soffit and spandrels leads to stairhall. Small front room lined with bolection-moulded panelling between panelled pilasters carrying moulded cornice: similarly moulded fireplace with hobgrate and panelled overmantel, between by 4-panel doors. Large front room fitted with bolection-moulded panelling and moulded cornice: similar fireplace with cornice shelf between foliate volutes and round-headed overmantel panel, between by semi-domed alcoves framed in keyed round arches on sunk panel pilasters. Stairhall doorcases are round-arched with round-headed 12-panel doors. Cantilevered staircase with panelled treads, three balusters, alternately fluted, twisted and turned, to each tread, and moulded handrail, ramped up to fluted column newels, swept at foot on moulded curtail step. Matching dado panelling to stair well. Staircase window is radial-glazed with small pane sashes framed in a round arch on corbelled fluted pilasters. First floor: landing doorcases are keyed round arches on sunk panel pilasters. Ceiling, above coved acanthus leaf cornice, is panelled in plaster. Main rooms have moulded cornices, and two retain bolection- moulded fireplaces; third fireplace survives in right end room on Cumberland Street side. Room at rear of right wing has plain fireplace with later basket grate in heavily moulded surround, panelled window recess with seat, and moulded cornice. Attic: some simple fireplaces survive. (City of York: RCHME: The Central Area: HMSO: 1981-: 151-2).
Listing NGR: SE6047351908

Derived from English Heritage LB download dated: 22/08/2005

Related NMR object:
BF060726 CUMBERLAND HOUSE, YORK