Foley House, 115 High Garret (EHER 80105)

Foley house was constructed in the 19th century as a substantial family home for the Courtauld family. It has been renovated over many years and has served as a children's home, hotel and care home.

March 2021. Building survey. Historic background: The building was occupied and renovated in the late 19th century by the Courtauld family who were pre-eminent in the textile industry in Essex in the 19th and early 20th centuries and owned mills in surrounding areas. As well as Foley House, several other buildings in the Braintree District owe their existence to the Courtauld family. Multiple housing estates and public buildings in Halstead, Braintree, Bocking and Gosfield were constructed for mill workers and their families, and several large mansion houses were built for prominent members of the Courtauld family themselves. Although there is a house on the 1838-39 tithe map at this location, it is labelled as ‘Folly House’ and has a very different footprint compared to today. The house which stands on the site today appears to have been constructed between 1860 and 1876. It appears on the 1876 Ordnance Survey map, where its footprint has changed significantly from the building depicted on the Tithe Map, but it is not clear whether the building was re-built or simply extended. This appearance on the map pre-dates the 1885 date inscribed on its north-east elevation. A western wing, since largely demolished, was added to the building in 1885 and a further, still standing, three-storey western range was added to the building between 1893-1896. In 1934 the house was put up for sale and the plan made in association with the catalogue shows no change to the house plan. In 1946 the Foley House became a Barnardo children's home. The 1954 Ordnance Survey map shows that a small extension was made to the south of the building, but this has since been demolished. In 1981 the house was converted into a hotel and an entrance porch was added. In 1985 the building became a care home and series of single-storey and first floor extensions were approved for addition to the building in 1993. The building continued as a care home until 2016, when it was put into special measures and closed in June of that year. Since that time the building has stood empty. Building exterior: The building is a brick-built structure, aligned north-west to southeast, it measures 45m x 27m in size and covers around 843 square metres. The majority of the structure is three-storeys in height, but several single or two-storey ranges project from the south-west and north-west elevations. Building interior Room numbers refer to those used on source site plan. Foley House contains a multitude of rooms on each floor, many of which are the result of modern additions or divisions and contain little in the way of architectural or historical interest. The ground floor of Foley House is expansive, with multiple rooms that have been added to the building or subdivided at a later date. The first floor of Foley House is by far the most impacted by modern alterations and additions. Almost every room has been extensively subdivided into modern bedrooms, cupboards and W.Cs. All the fireplaces on this floor, with the exception of the one in room 85, have been blocked. Room 60 contains an inserted modern staircase, leading up from room 11 below. Many of the rooms in the second floor have similarly been separated by modern divisions. <1>