Late 19th century house, Lightoaks (EHER 80523)

Lightoaks, now demolished, was one of the buildings designed by George Sherrin in the Ingatestone and Fryering area of Essex. It was built in 1882 and was one of the earlier structures in Sherrin's development. It was illustrated in the 'British Architect' Vol. 3. 1885 and described as being for Mrs Du Cane. Lightoaks was a large brick built house of two storeys and an attic with half-timbered projecting gables, stone surrounds and mullions to the windows, prominent ridge stacks and a stepped end stack. Although there had been some remodelling when the house was converted to a nursing home in the 1950s it retained some contemporary fireplaces and decorative plasterwork.

Lightoaks was one of the buildings designed by George Sherrin in the Ingatestone and Fryerning area of Essex, mentioned by Pevsner in <2>. In 1884, Sherrin leased land from the Petre estate to build houses for wealthy commuters set in ample grounds. Built in 1882, Lightoaks was one of the earlier structures in this development. It was illustrated in the 'British Architect' Vol3. 1885 and described as being for Mrs Du Cane. The stylistic treatment for all his pieces in this speculative development was domestic revival, constructed in brick with half-timbered and tile-hung gables, as demonstrated in his Grade II listed Newlands Hall (1884) (EHER 26567) and Tilehurst (1884) (EHER 26654), both in Brentwood district. Lightoaks had some internal remodelling following its conversion to a nursing home in the 1950s, but was said to have been largely intact externally, attested by its unaltered footprint in historic OS maps. Lightoaks was a large brick-built residence of two storeys and an attic with half-timbered projecting gables, stone surrounds and mullions to the windows, prominent ridge stacks and a stepped end-stack. Although there had been some remodelling, Lightoaks retained some contemporary fireplaces and decorative plasterwork. Greater selection is required when considering buildings post-dating 1840 for designation, particularly suburban housing dating to between 1840-1914, because of the greater number of speculative developments which took place during the period and the tendency to adopt standardised forms and styles. Sherrin has 14 listed buildings to his name including the Grade II* listed Hatfield Place (EHER 29820) in Essex and was clearly a prominent, prolific local architect who produced well-executed buildings, some of which have special architectural interest. Unfortunately, owing to the demolition of the structure prior to inspection, it is uncertain whether the building would have been considered to have special architectural or historic interest or not. However, as a demolished structure and no fabric of interest survives, it is no longer suitable for inclusion on the statutory list. <1>