“A house and surgery now”. Old Essex House bears secrets from the late 16th century. It is now a Grade II listed building. It stands on Station Road in Barnes, London. Let me tell you more about Old Essex House.
Old Essex House faces Barnes Green. It is near Barnes High Street and Church Road. Imagine doctors consulting where noblemen once plotted. The house’s origins trace back to the late 16th or early 17th centuries. It has seen many changes.
Once, this area held a grand gentry house. Old Essex House was remodeled in the late 17th century. Further changes occurred in the mid-18th century and around 1845. Mid-19th-century stucco covers the brick. The roof is Welsh slate. It has gabled ends. A rendered ridge stack shows moulded stone cornices from the mid-19th century.
The building follows a two-unit plan. A cross wing extends to the right. The left elevation has a late 19th-century Gothic-style doorway. Look closely. You will see linenfold-paneled half-glazed doors. These sit beneath a brattished cornice. A cusped overlight adds detail.
C20 windows sit in mid-19th-century moulded stone architraves. Sections of late 17th-century bolection mouldings appear on the first floor. Triple keystones adorn them. A C20 doorway was added to the left. The gable end of the cross wing holds two C20 first-floor windows. They are set in late 17th-century keyed bolection-moulded stone architraves.
A mid-19th-century moulded stone architrave frames a C20 ground-floor window. An inserted C20 window and door are also present. A mid-19th-century moulded stone cornice adds elegance. A late 19th-century one-storey addition stands to the right.
Step inside. You will find mid-19th-century paneled doors. Plaster cornices grace the rooms. The rear right room, once a kitchen, features a late 19th-century Tudor-style fireplace. Carved spandrels decorate it. Reset late 15th-century foliate roof bosses add historical charm.
The front room used to be a dining room. It showcases paneling from around 1750. A moulded wood architrave and dentilled cornice surround the fireplace. To the rear left, a fine staircase dates to around 1680. It is a dog-leg style with winders. Turned balusters stand on a closed string.
Old Essex House has witnessed centuries unfold. It has transformed from a gentry house to a doctor’s surgery. Its walls hold stories of families, renovations, and community life. Today, it serves the community still. It offers healing and care within its historic walls. It stands as a testament to time’s passage and enduring architecture. The house is located in Mortlake and Barnes Common Ward. Its listing date is July 27, 1988.