Carr Manor
Encyclopedia
Carr Manor is a Victorian
grade II listed house in Meanwood
, Leeds
, England
, designed by Edward Schroeder Prior
and built for Thomas Clifford Allbutt M.D. (1836–1925). In 1881 it replaced Carr Manor House, though retaining the 1796 stable block. The former gardener's and housekeeper's cottages, the former stables (now garage) and the wall, gate piers and gates are also grade II listed.
It was Richard Norman Shaw
’s custom to give setting up commissions to his former pupils. Carr Manor was Edward Schroeder Prior’s setting up commission on his departure in 1880. The house shows more of influence from Philip Webb
than from Shaw. It follows the local vernacular of strong stone built manor houses of the 17th century.
(1877–83) and Adcote
(1875—80) were influential. Prior adopted Shaw’s entrance hall scheme, rather than the vernacular screens passage that is characteristic of Yorkshire manor houses. The west side includes black and white work, reminiscent of Shaw. A Flemish
influence is also apparent in the crow stepped gables of the east and west front. The local vernacular
is also clearly an influence with stepped label mouldings, stepped windows and parapet
s. The window glass is based on 16th and 17th century patterns and as a prelude to Prior’s later extensive use of stained glass there is stained glass on pastel colours and geometric designs in the windows of the upper floors.
Despite the restrictions on planning imposed by the existing layout, Carr Manor demonstrates Prior’s concern to link the building to its garden. The house turns its back on the road looking south over the garden, which he planned in conjunction with the house.
Prior’s work at Carr Manor completely integrated the existing 17th century manor into the new house. He added the library, conservatory
room, drawing room and dining room. The auxiliary buildings were reworked from the 18th century facilities. The relationship between the main block and the service accommodation was defined by the plan of the existing building, rather than designed as a response to site, unlike most of Prior’s later buildings.
The main facade
has three gable
d bays with a further gable on the east side of the protruding library. Two further gables on the east front unify the house design. The extensive and varied windows emphasise the horizontal nature of the elevations.
The entrance hall was perpendicular to the double height main hall. The interior was decorated in a neo-Jacobean scheme with an oak gallery with wooden segmental arches with turned baluster
s. The hall divides the house along a north-south axis.
The interior reflects Prior’s belief in the integration of architecture and furniture. Prior designed wardrobes, and cupboards in the gallery and dining room, and settles. The floors were bare wood with oriental carpets. The dining room ceiling was richly decorated in plaster work.
Prior’s interested in materials and craftsmanship were well established by the time he came to design Carr Manor. The house is built of local grey Horsforth Stone with grey Pool Bank stone for the dressings and a heavy grey slated roof. Local specialists, J. Mattack of Keighley
undertook the stonework.
's Middlemarch
. Albutt was typical of Prior’s future clients: successful professional middle class men, solicitors, barristers, doctors etc.
In 1903 the Leeds firm of Bedford and Kiston were engaged to make major alterations to the house, doubling its size through the addition of a northern range and adding two stories to Prior’s service wing, creating an E-shaped plan. They added two west bays to the garden front and altered the terrace. Their work carefully imitated that of Prior externally, but the interiors have been extensively altered with the repositioning of the entrance, hall and main staircase and the classicisation of the dining room.
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
grade II listed house in Meanwood
Meanwood
Meanwood is a suburb and former village of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Origins and History:The name Meanwood goes back to the 12th century, and is of Anglo-Saxon derivation: the Meene wude was the boundary wood of the Manor of Alreton, the woods to the east of Meanwood Beck...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, designed by Edward Schroeder Prior
Edward Schroeder Prior
Edward Schroeder Prior was an architect who was instrumental in establishing the arts and crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, craftsmanship and the building process and subsequently influencing...
and built for Thomas Clifford Allbutt M.D. (1836–1925). In 1881 it replaced Carr Manor House, though retaining the 1796 stable block. The former gardener's and housekeeper's cottages, the former stables (now garage) and the wall, gate piers and gates are also grade II listed.
It was Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA , was an influential Scottish architect from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings.-Life:...
’s custom to give setting up commissions to his former pupils. Carr Manor was Edward Schroeder Prior’s setting up commission on his departure in 1880. The house shows more of influence from Philip Webb
Philip Webb
Another Philip Webb — Philip Edward Webb was the architect son of leading architect Sir Aston Webb. Along with his brother, Maurice, he assisted his father towards the end of his career....
than from Shaw. It follows the local vernacular of strong stone built manor houses of the 17th century.
Architecture
The influence of Shaw is recognisable. In particular, Shaw’s houses at Flete HouseFlete House
Flete House is a Grade I listed country house at Holbeton, in the South Hams district of Devon, England.Flete was a Saxon estate, the manor being held by the Damarell family from the reign of William I until the time of Edward III....
(1877–83) and Adcote
Adcote
Adcote School is an independent non-selective day and boarding school for girls, located in the village of Little Ness, five miles northwest of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The school was founded in 1907, and is set in a Grade I listed country house built in 1879 for Rebecca Darby, the widow...
(1875—80) were influential. Prior adopted Shaw’s entrance hall scheme, rather than the vernacular screens passage that is characteristic of Yorkshire manor houses. The west side includes black and white work, reminiscent of Shaw. A Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
influence is also apparent in the crow stepped gables of the east and west front. The local vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
is also clearly an influence with stepped label mouldings, stepped windows and parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s. The window glass is based on 16th and 17th century patterns and as a prelude to Prior’s later extensive use of stained glass there is stained glass on pastel colours and geometric designs in the windows of the upper floors.
Despite the restrictions on planning imposed by the existing layout, Carr Manor demonstrates Prior’s concern to link the building to its garden. The house turns its back on the road looking south over the garden, which he planned in conjunction with the house.
Prior’s work at Carr Manor completely integrated the existing 17th century manor into the new house. He added the library, conservatory
Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
room, drawing room and dining room. The auxiliary buildings were reworked from the 18th century facilities. The relationship between the main block and the service accommodation was defined by the plan of the existing building, rather than designed as a response to site, unlike most of Prior’s later buildings.
The main facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
has three gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d bays with a further gable on the east side of the protruding library. Two further gables on the east front unify the house design. The extensive and varied windows emphasise the horizontal nature of the elevations.
The entrance hall was perpendicular to the double height main hall. The interior was decorated in a neo-Jacobean scheme with an oak gallery with wooden segmental arches with turned baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s. The hall divides the house along a north-south axis.
The interior reflects Prior’s belief in the integration of architecture and furniture. Prior designed wardrobes, and cupboards in the gallery and dining room, and settles. The floors were bare wood with oriental carpets. The dining room ceiling was richly decorated in plaster work.
Prior’s interested in materials and craftsmanship were well established by the time he came to design Carr Manor. The house is built of local grey Horsforth Stone with grey Pool Bank stone for the dressings and a heavy grey slated roof. Local specialists, J. Mattack of Keighley
Keighley
Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of Bradford and is at the confluence of the River Aire and the River Worth...
undertook the stonework.
Later history
Albutt, a vicar’s son from Suffolk, invented the short clinical thermometer and ophthalmoscope and published his influential eight-volume System of Medicine between 1896 and 1899. He was also supposedly the model of Tertius Lydgate M.D. in George ElliotGeorge Elliot
George Elliot may refer to: *George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans , English novelist*George Elliot , British naval officer and Member of Parliament for Roxburghshire 1832–1835...
's Middlemarch
Middlemarch
Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put aside during the final illness of Thornton Lewes, the son of her companion George Henry Lewes...
. Albutt was typical of Prior’s future clients: successful professional middle class men, solicitors, barristers, doctors etc.
In 1903 the Leeds firm of Bedford and Kiston were engaged to make major alterations to the house, doubling its size through the addition of a northern range and adding two stories to Prior’s service wing, creating an E-shaped plan. They added two west bays to the garden front and altered the terrace. Their work carefully imitated that of Prior externally, but the interiors have been extensively altered with the repositioning of the entrance, hall and main staircase and the classicisation of the dining room.