Library, now house. 1862 by Sir George Gilbert Scott for the widow of the Hon. Henry Fitzroy, M.P., in a neo-Gothic style. Red brick with stone dressings and some black brick decorative patterning. Slate hipped roof with bell-cast. 2 storey front block with double height octagonal library to rear. Front elevation: Stone dressed plinth, stone string-course with black brick chequering below and heavily bracketted stone eaves cornice, again with some black brick chequering below. Tall 3-shafted stack at left end with stone dressings and caps. Finials and ridge cresting to roof, with tall central Gothic-style aedicular cupola, with gables on 2 levels, finials at corners on lower level and finial. 3 window front. Central gabled semi-dormer, with stone parapetted gable and stone kneelers, supported on 2 marble columns with foliage capitals. Pointed central arch with moulded surround, on 2 further marble columns, flanking 2-light window with foliage capitals to surround, central marble column with similar foliage capital, cusped heads to lights and quatrefoil window above. 2-light windows flanking on first floor in square surrounds, both of 2 lights with cusped heads, central marble column with foliage capitals and decorative stone lintel. 2-light windows on ground-floor flanking centre, both cusped lancets in roll-moulded surrounds again with central marble columns and flanking capitals in surrounds. Central moulded pointed-arched door surround, with inset cusped decoration in arch, on 2 marble columns with foliage capitals. Large balcony over with iron rails, on deep brackets, supported on pair of large marble columns with foliage capitals. Paired boarded and ribbed doors. Right return front: 2 storeys with parapet and stone string. 3 bays with giant arched recesses, foliage capitals supporting brick and stone striped arches. Plate traceried rose windows in each arch. 2-light, round-headed windows below with impost bands, carved blocks and central marble columns with foliage capitals.
Interior: Hall-way with with single flight stair to left, with neo-Gothic balustrade. Octagonal reading room behind hall, top-lit with wooden galleries on columns, all decorated with neo-gothic detail. C20 roof-lights.
Victorian Gothic former library built by Sir George Gilbert Scott up for sale in Lewes.
An historic home in Lewes which was formerly the town’s library is up for sale.
Fitzroy House in Friars Walk is on the market with Graves Son and Pilcher for a cool £1m.
The property dates from 1862 and was designed by renowned architect Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), who also created the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station, the Albert Memorial, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.
Eleanor Franks, whose parents Jim and Maureen bought the library to restore it, said when they took ownership of the building part of the roof had collapsed.
Her Dad Jim worked as a quantity surveyor and had completed a number of barn conversions.
He was asked by a member of the Friends of Lewes to carry out a survey on the building with a view to turning it into offices.
The conversion into office space did not pan out, but Jim and Maureeen decided to embark on the ambitious project of transforming it into a home.
What followed was a five year labour of love while the family worked on the project, with help from their friends.
Eleanor, who was leaving for university when the project got underway, said: “Dad had an opportunity for a new project and it was an interesting one. It ticked quite a few boxes for him.
“My father kept a journal and updated me every week about the progress that was being made.”
The memorial library was built for Lewes MP Henry Fitzroy by his widow.
It was built as the Fitzroy Memorial Library by a member of the Rothschild family.
The building remained a library until 1958 when the library was moved to Albion Street and Fitzroy House became offices.
When it was deemed not viable, it stayed empty for about five years and was partly demolished before an emergency preservation order and Grade II listing instigated by the Friends of Lewes was approved to prevent demolition.
The unusual home, built in the Gothic Revival style for which Scott became known, has two floors with 2,800 square foot of space.
So what was it like living in a house like this?
“It’s surprisingly quiet because if has very thick walls so you don’t get as much noise as you would expect. It’s an interesting place to live. It is one of the most striking buildings in Lewes, if you like Victorian Gothic which I do.”
Scott was an English Gothic revival architect, associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started his career as a leading designer of workhouses.
Fitzroy House, built in Gothic Victorian style, is probably one of Lewes’ most recognisable and unique buildings. It includes a large entrance hall with Gothic Victorian pillars and a tiled floor, a reception room with an octagonal building at first floor and an octagonal roof light highlighting the ornate clock tower.
There is a bedroom with an ensuite shower, a second bedroom, a study/third bedroom and a snug/fourth bedroom, a bathroom, WC/shower, a reception room measuring 36ft by 36ft, a kitchen with dining area, a first floor living room and a rear yard with off street parking.