Old Battery House

Reasons for Designation

The Old Battery House is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * The design is careful and well considered, and pays attention to decorative detail. Of particular interest are the moulded brick plaques containing the Royal Navy Anchor motif. * It is of special historical and architectural interest as part of an unusual ensemble of coastguard buildings, including officers quarters and a terrace of cottages, with which it has strong group value. * It is a reminder of the significant role played by the Coastguard Service in the maritime history that informs our island identity.

Details

KINGS LYNN

610-1/0/10015 CROSSBANK ROAD 03-AUG-09 Old Battery House

GV II House, part of Kings Lynn Coastguard Station; 1883, minor C20 additions; red brick with tiled roofs.

PLAN: The building is essentially square, of two storeys, with projections to north south and east. Its pitched roofs rise to a pyramid in the centre, with ridges to gable ends over each projection. The original enclosed back yard is covered over to form a continuous link with the outhouse to the east.

EXTERIOR: The west elevation overlooking the river is of two bays. That to the north projects forward slightly and has a gable with tripartite casement; under the lintel of this window is a bracket with a cord twisted round it which would apparently have been lowered to the ground and used to operate a window knocker, presumably in case of an emergency at sea. Above this window is a moulded brick plaque displaying the Anchor motif of the Royal Navy. To the ground floor is a flat roofed canted bay with French windows flanked by narrow windows to the sides of the bay. Below the cornice is a band of egg and dart ornament in moulded brick. The south half of this elevation has a tripartite casement window to the ground floor with a moulded brick plaque containing the date 1883 framed by sunflowers. The west side of the projecting wing in the north elevation has a window to the first floor under the eaves and a window to the ground floor replacing the main entrance. To the east of this wing is a gabled dormer with a small plaque with four sunflowers below which is a tripartite casement window. The south elevation displays a plaque at first floor level displaying the Anchor motif flanked by side panels with leaf decoration. There are two first floor windows, that to the west is a uPVC replacement, that to the east is a narrow tripartite casement window. Most windows have cambered arches. Modern dormer windows have been inserted in the north slope of the roof.

To the east the outhouse elevation has a window which appears to be a later insertion. To the north of the outhouse is a modern garage.

INTERIOR: The ground floor plan consists of a central corridor running from north to south, with an entrance lobby (now toilet) in the north wing. To the west of the corridor are two living rooms, to the east the kitchen and scullery. The south front room retains its picture rail and original marble fireplace in the north-west corner, and the kitchen has a wide fireplace with bressumer. The plan has been slightly modified by moving the door to the kitchen to its present position on the central corridor from the service room next to the scullery, and turning the service room into an entrance lobby by replacing its window with a door. The panelling on the east side of the corridor is modern, but the high internal window between kitchen and corridor is original. The doors to the two front rooms have four stopped chamfered panels.

From the south end of the corridor the stairs rise to the first floor. The upper half of the stair and the landing have stick balusters and a stopped chamfered newel post. The first floor plan replicates that of the ground floor, with two back and two front rooms, but the partition wall between the two back rooms has been moved. The bathroom in the north wing has a tiny window set at an angle in the corner looking north-east. The interior of the outhouse does not retain original features.

HISTORY: Until 1856 there had been a small number of officers based in Kings Lynn fulfilling mainly customs duties. In 1875 plans were drawn up for a new coastguard station, now St Edmunds Terrace, and this was opened in 1883. The station consisted of a terrace of five cottages, which provided accommodation for the crew and their families, immediately to the north of which was a detached building containing officers' accommodation and a boathouse (now 6 St Edmunds Terrace). The Battery House is a detached building at the south end of the terrace, and seems to have functioned as a residential training college for young men from the surrounding area for whom the coastguard was a route into a career with the Royal Navy. The name suggests an association with artillery, but could equally imply artillery personel. Although there is no direct evidence for the housing of arms, this may have been part of the buildings function, and the training received by young recruits would certainly have involved the use of firearms.

By 1922 the Kings Lynn Coastguard Station contained a detachment of only four men. With the establishment of the new service, HM Coastguard, under the provision of the Coastguard Act of 1925, the station was closed and sold. In the late C20 or early C21 the yard of the Battery House between the house and outhouse was covered over.

SOURCES: William Webb, Coastguard: an official history of HM Coastguard (1976). Chambers Dictionary.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The Battery House is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * The design is careful and well considered, including decorative detail. Of particular interest are the moulded brick plaques containing the Royal Navy Anchor motif. * It is of special historical and architectural interest as part of an unusual ensemble of coastguard buildings, including officers' quarters and a terrace of cottages, with which it has strong group value. * It is a reminder of the significant role played by the Coastguard Service in the maritime history that informs our island identity.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

506354

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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