Building record ETN 038 - The Round House, Santuary Road

The Round House is a highly distinctive and picturesque Grade-II listed circular thatched cottage. It was built by the 12th Duke of Hamilton in circa 1890 as one of at least four identical or almost identical ornamental estate cottages. the Duke and his wife sought to create a ‘model village’ at Easton. Displaying a variety of architectural styles, and including the model farm at Easton Farm Park, this village presaged the more famous collections at Portmeirion and nearby Thorpeness. The Round House’s southern bay window displays the Duke’s coronet in relief-moulded plaster, as do three other round cottages in the parish which are all separately listed. Depicted with a perfectly round outline on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey of 1904, at some point in the mid-20th century a modest single storied thatched extension was built against the rear kitchen, removing a section of outer wall, and a glazed conservatory was subsequently added to the extension. Despite these additions the building’s original appearance remains much as intended, with only one secondary window interrupting its high-quality brickwork. Internally, however, the property has been extensively modernised, and relatively little historic character survives (S1).