Designed by Edward Prior, architect for Major Weatherall, it is thought to be one of the most important houses of its time in Europe. It was to cost over £7,000, no mean sum for a modest dwelling of that time.

Burnt down in 1905, rebuilt soon afterwards, it largely retains its character.

Listed grade II, it is an example of the Arts and Crafts Movement's influence on architectural design. It had developed from the Art Workers Guild founded in 1884. The guild was the craftsman's protest against Victorian influences, especially the growth of industrialisation, It grew to embrace not only architecture, but furniture, wall papers (William Morris papers are reproduced today), glass painting, pottery, woodcarving, metalwork and typography.