Building record 1382700000 - 23 Station Road, Winslow

Early 19th century villa style house with symmetrical frontage and projecting bay windows at ground floor level. Timber sliding sash windows and decorative brick detailing. Front elevation has been painted, so the decorative brickwork is no longer visible on the principal elevation. Shallow pitched slate roof with matching chimney stacks at each gable end. Central panelled, timber door with fanlight over and narrow windows to either side. Decorative barge boards to gable ends. This is a local building of note within the Conservation Area of Winslow (B1).
Historic building recording carried out by Bancroft Heritage Services in December 2014 in advance of proposed alterations and partial demolition concluded that the house was built in the 1870s, following the opening of the Bletchley-Oxford railway, and the construction of Station Road. It is a typical Victorian villa, with patterned brickwork, stone detailing, and elaborate brick chimney stacks externally, and bespoke joinery internally, all typical of the period, and suggesting that it was built for someone who was reasonably prosperous. The adjoining two-storey service wing housed the household’s transport: horses, trap and tack, with food and bedding for the horses. Between c.1880 and 1899 the house was extended, with additions to the main part of the house and to the service wing to the rear. The service range was also extended during this period. The extensions to the house were constructed to blend seamlessly with the original structure, using identical brickwork, lintels, sills etc. Additional accommodation was provided, both for the family who owned the house, and for their household staff. The final alterations were made to the house in the latter half of the 20th century in two phases, the first possibly to provide facilities for a veterinary practice, which may have been based there, and the second with providing facilities for an elderly resident, including reduction in the occupied areas of the house. The Nissen hut at the rear of the property was constructed c.1965-78. Its intended function remains uncertain, though the ample provision of windows on both sides suggests it was used as a workshop rather than for storage. It had not been used for many years, and was in an advanced state of collapse. See report for detail (B2).