Buntingsdale Hall

Buntingsdale Hall is a country house dated 1721, built for Bulkeley Mackworth. The architect is uncertain, though possibly John Prince, but the building was probably completed under the supervision of Francis Smith of Warwick. The house was extended and altered in 1857 by Smith of Shrewsbury in an early 18th-century style. It is constructed of red brick with red sandstone ashlar dressings, with six brick stacks featuring stone cornices. The main block is 9 by 5 bays with an addition to the north.

The entrance front faces east and measures 1:2:3:2:1 bays, articulated by a Giant Corinthian order. Fluted pilasters (except the second and fifth, which are plain) support sections of frieze, architrave, and a full cornice that breaks forward over each pilaster but is interrupted at the centre three bays. Panelled dies to the attic are topped with a moulded cornice and small triangular pediments over the end bays. The central three bays are crowned with an open triangular pediment, broken back with a carved stone cartouche in the tympanum, and a balustraded parapet with panelled dies. The windows are glazing bar sashes with moulded stone cills and gauged segmental heads with raised triple keystones. Attic windows have flat arches. Basement oculi in the end bays feature moulded architraves and triple keystones, with some basement windows blind and painted to imitate sashes. A pair of central doors has three raised and fielded panels, with a wooden tympanum above containing four raised and fielded panels, and a segmental-headed moulded architrave with raised triple keystone. The Corinthian stone doorcase consists of pilasters each supporting a section of entablature and a broken open segmental pediment.

The left-hand return front displays 2:3:2 bays with a central full-height bow. A central ground-floor window has a moulded architrave and raised keystone. A late 20th-century doorway and steps were inserted in the second bay from the left. Square-section lead downpipes flank the bow, with rainwater heads bearing the Mackworth arms and crest, acanthus ornament at the junction of pipes and cornice, and straps inscribed with the initials "BM", the date "1721", and other ornament including paterae.

The west (garden) front comprises 3:3:3 bays divided by pilasters, with a central break featuring a three-bay triangular pediment, broken back with an oval panel in the tympanum. A pair of central 20th-century glazed doors with a six-pane overlight and segmental-headed moulded architrave with raised triple keystone stands beneath an Ionic stone doorcase with pilasters supporting sections of entablature and an open segmental pediment.

The north wing dates to 1857, consisting of two storeys over a basement. Its identical east and west fronts display 1:3:1 bays with recessed end bays, the northern bay featuring an attic. The building is two storeys and an attic over a basement.

The interior was remodelled in 1857 when a full-height entrance hall was created and the staircase moved to its present position. The entrance hall features black and white stone flooring and tall bolection-moulded panelling rising to the first floor level with a cornice, above which is raised and fielded panelling extending to a cornice and coving. A central rear doorway has a segmental pediment above on carved brackets. A first-floor gallery features turned balusters, raised at the centre. A central first-floor doorway has a doorcase with fluted pilasters and an open triangular pediment. A stone fireplace displays free-standing cable-fluted Ionic columns and a rusticated surround with a keystone.

A central ground-floor rear room contains a doorway with a moulded architrave and segmental pediment; its fireplace has been removed. The staircase hall features two ground-floor round archways with marble piers and moulded arches with panelled soffits and keystones. A doorway displays a pulvinated frieze and triangular pediment. A probably reset early 18th-century fireplace with a bolection-moulded surround stands beneath a cornice with egg and dart enrichment. A re-ordered circa 1721 staircase consists of three flights around a square well with landings. It has an open string with carved brackets, three fluted balusters per tread, a moulded ramped handrail, and panelled dado with a landing balustrade. Two by three round archways at the head of the stairs feature square piers and moulded arches with panelled soffits and keystones. Four doorways with moulded architraves and triangular pediments are present, though some had been removed by the time of the April 1985 survey. A rich cornice adorns the space.

Two principal rooms occupy the 1857 wing. The dining room features a rich cornice with vine trail and egg and dart enrichment; its fireplace has been removed. The ballroom displays rich plaster panelling with a rich cornice featuring dentils, egg and dart enrichment, mutules and paterae, and a central ceiling rose. Eight-panelled doors with segmental-pedimented overmantels on brackets are present, along with windows with pelmets. A small anteroom features tall raised and fielded and bolection-moulded panels with a cornice displaying egg and dart enrichment. A late 18th-century or early 19th-century back staircase with a circular well consists of an open string with brackets, turned balusters, and a moulded handrail.

The basement contains brick-vaulted cellars. A possibly reset early 18th-century fireplace features a depressed-arched surround with a fluted key to the lintel. Reused 17th-century panelling is present. A 19th-century kitchen contains cast-iron columns. An 18th-century stair also survives.

Documents concerning Buntingsdale that came to light in Spring 1986 suggest John Prince supervised some work at the house. It has been proposed that Mackworth quarrelled with Prince, dismissed him, and appointed Francis Smith to complete the work. Avray Tipping references a now-lost document recording the supply to Smith of "a pad nag to ride hither from Warwick". The house originally stood in parkland (now broken up) with a lake to the west. At the time of survey in April 1986, many fixtures and fittings had been dismantled or stolen. The panelled business room and bedroom illustrated in a Country Life article were not noted during the survey.