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"The substantial Jacobean grange, (with) strong hints of Morris's Kelmscott Manor, and in the steep gables perhaps a touch of Scottish baronial" is what E.H. McCormick said about the style of Turnbull House, Wellington. This is one of the magnificent tourist attractions of this city. The Queen Anne approach is clear in the warm red brickwork contrasted with white timber window frames and sashes separated into small panes. Homeliness and plainness are other characteristics Turnbull House shares with the Queen Anne style. A previous design for the building shows a similar plan form to the one which was adopted. However, the style is Classical since there you will find round-headed windows, bracketed cornice and a flat or low-pitched roof hidden behind a parapet. It is a fascinating sign of the times that the same plan could produce two buildings so dissimilar in external appearance. Alexander obviously favored the design with English and Scottish precedents. The planning of Turnbull House, Wellington is simple. A major partition divides the library on the west side from the living quarters on the east side. The library is consisted of three large rooms, one on each floor, facing onto Bowen Street, with four floors of stack rooms behind. The living quarters consist of a study, dining room and kitchen on the ground floor, with bedrooms and bathrooms on the first and second floors. Along with two service entries at the side and back, maid's quarters were provided at the back on the ground and first floors. A small separate building contained a wash-house and fuel store. The foundations and the stack room floors are concrete; all other floors are timber. The roof is timber framed and is sheathed with Welsh slates; gutters and down pipes are copper. Do pay a visit to Turnbull House, Wellington.
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