OS grid reference SJ 402 662 Built for Henry Potts Opened 1820 Designated as world heritage site 10 January 1972 | Built 1820 Reference no. 1376469 Architectural style Neoclassical architecture Architect Thomas Harrison | |
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Location Watergate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England Similar The Col Building, Woodbank - Stockport, The Lyceum - Liverpool, Church of Our Lady and Saint, Quern Park | ||
Watergate House is in Watergate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Contents
Map of Watergate House, Watergate St, Chester CH1 2LF, UK
History
Watergate House was built in 1820 as a town house for Henry Potts, Clerk of the Peace for the County of Cheshire. It was designed by Thomas Harrison. In 1907 it became the headquarters of Western Command. It then became the headquarters of the Cheshire Community Council, and has since been used as offices.
Architecture
The house is constructed in Flemish bond brown brick with stone dressings and a grey slate roof. It has two storeys plus a basement. The plan of the main block is square, with the entrance in a recessed convex quadrant at the northeast corner. A service wing projects to the south. Six curved steps lead up to a curved eight-panel door with four-pane sidelights and a three-pane overlight. The door is surrounded by an Ionic doorcase. Above this, in the upper storey, is a twelve-pane sash window in an architrave, the bottom panel of which is inscribed with aa crown flanked by initials "E" and "R". Both storeys on the east and north sides contain three twelve-pane sash windows. On the west (garden) front is a central two-storey bay window containing sash windows, flanked by sash windows in each storey. The entrance door leads through a domed circular lobby to an octagonal central hall.