Attingham Park

A grand country house mansion built between 1783 and 1785 to designs by George Steuart for the first Lord Berwick, with significant internal alterations carried out in 1805–7 by John Nash. The house is constructed of grey Grinshill sandstone ashlar with some red brick to the rear and has hipped slate roofs.

Architectural Overview

The building comprises a central U-shaped block with curved colonnaded wings extending to set-back flanking pavilions. The main block rises through a basement and three storeys. The basement is finished with channelled rustication and a moulded top. A moulded band links the ground-floor windows, with further moulded bands at first-floor cill level and second-floor cill level. The composition is crowned by a moulded cornice with blocking course above, and eight symmetrically placed ridge stacks with moulded cornices.

The principal front extends eleven bays in a 4:3:4 rhythm, all fitted with glazing bar sashes. The basement windows are round-arched. Each ground-floor window is embellished with a small wrought iron balcony and features a moulded architrave, frieze, and cornice. Recessed blank rectangular panels appear above the central three ground- and first-floor windows.

The Portico and Entrance

The centrepiece is a tetrastyle Ionic portico with attenuated unfluted columns set on a panelled and moulded plinth. The columns support an entablature with a triangular pediment and a panelled soffit decorated with moulded plasterwork. A wrought iron balustrade runs along the plinth, and curved flanking staircases feature spearhead railings, oval paterae, and curtail steps with wreathed handrails and columnular newels. The central entrance door is half-glazed with two lower flush panels and a six-part overlight. Lead downpipes with moulded semi-circular rainwater heads are positioned between the second and third bays and the ninth and tenth bays.

The return fronts extend six bays in a 2:2:2 rhythm. Paired pilasters support short sections of entablature flanking the centre two bays, and a central lead downpipe is present.

Rear Elevation

To the rear, flanking wings terminate in full-height canted bays. The recessed centre features a projecting circular stair tower dating from circa 1807 with an arcaded ground-floor porch and a door with six flush panels beneath a radial fanlight, complete with imposts and a keyed surround. A full-height circular service stair tower stands in the angle to the left.

Wings and Pavilions

Twelve-bay colonnades with quadrant links connect the house to the pavilions. These colonnades have a moulded plinth and unfluted Ionic columns supporting an entablature with moulded cornice, topped by a panelled parapet. A balustraded parapet appears at the rear, overlooking an inner service courtyard behind the house. The colonnades feature a wrought iron balustrade, steps up in each end bay, pilasters on the rear wall, and blind windows in the rear wall facing the inner courtyard. Blocked end bays adjoining the house on each side contain a single glazing bar sash and a six-panelled door onto the colonnade. Pairs of two-panelled doors lead into the pavilions, and the soffits display oval plaster paterae.

Each two-storey pavilion has a moulded plinth, first-floor cill band, and Ionic pilasters supporting an entablature with moulded cornice and an interrupted balustraded parapet. They are topped with hipped roofs and pairs of ridge stacks with moulded cornices. Each pavilion front extends four bays with glazing bar sashes.

The three-bay outside return fronts have a slightly recessed central bay. The outer bays feature recessed blind round arches: those toward the front have a blind window and blind lunette above, while those to the rear have blind lunettes only. The inner return fronts also have recessed blind round arches with blind lunettes in the bay to the rear, and a central porch with moulded cornice and blocking course. The blind doorway to the courtyard has a lunette; the north-east pavilion has a six-panelled door to the rear.

The rears of the pavilions extend three bays. The south-west pavilion has a red brick ground floor and a pair of central half-glazed doors.

Interior Arrangement

The interior follows a symmetrical arrangement with largely masculine apartments to the left of the entrance hall and largely feminine ones to the right. This scheme is by George Steuart. Nash's alterations included blocking the former entrance-hall screen, creating a top-lit picture gallery behind it, and building a new staircase beyond.

Entrance Hall

The entrance hall measures three by three bays and features scagliola Ionic pilasters (three-quarter columns) and columns to the former screen, supporting a guilloche-ornamented frieze and dentil cornice. The ceiling is panelled with enriched plasterwork. An inlaid marble chimney-piece is set in a blind arch on the north-east wall. Pairs of three-panelled doors have doorcases consisting of moulded architraves and console brackets supporting moulded cornices. Marbled walls and grisaille panels dating from circa 1807 were added by Nash, as was a service stair to the basement against the south-west wall.

Picture Gallery

Dating from 1807 and designed by Nash, the picture gallery is separated by a screen of two Corinthian columns at each end. A guilloche band runs above the plinth and over doorways, with a fluted frieze and dentil cornice above. The central space has a coved toplight with curved cast iron ribs from Coalbrookdale, reputedly the earliest use of curved cast iron ribs to support window frames. The central flat part of the ceiling has a guilloche border. The gallery also contains a rare chamber organ of 1796 by Samuel Green.

Staircase

Dating from circa 1807 and designed by Nash, the staircase occupies a circular well with reeded walls. A single flight leads to a landing, from which two curved flights rise to the first floor. The stairs have inlaid risers, a wrought iron scrolled balustrade, wreathed curtails with columnular newels, and an inlaid ramped handrail.

Right-Hand Suite of Rooms

The right-hand suite begins with the Drawing Room, which has moulded plaster wall panels, an enriched plaster frieze and moulded cornice, and a painted and gilded enriched plaster ceiling consisting of wide bands with wreaths. The remaining ceiling space features swags, arabesques, and further vine-leaf wreaths, with pairs of sphinxes at the ends flanking lamps. The chimney-piece by John Deval the younger has pairs of Corinthian columns, oval panels in the frieze above, and a central marble relief panel.

The small Drawing Room or Sultana Room features a guilloche-ornamented dado rail. A large segmental-arched recess in one wall has delicately painted spandrels and is flanked by attenuated paired Corinthian half-columns. The room has an enriched frieze and moulded cornice, and a delicate enriched plaster ceiling with painted roundels.

The East Anteroom has a fluted frieze with triglyphs and paterae, a segmental vault, and French painted wallpaper dating from circa 1815.

Lady Berwick's Boudoir is a circular room with attached Corinthian columns supporting a frieze with palmette ornament and a moulded cornice. The dome has husk-ornamented bands and segments with plaster wreaths and flaming lamps. Wall panels and six-panelled doors (some leading only to cupboards) feature delicate painted arabesques and painted roundels. The fireplace, probably by John Deval of 1785, has an ornamented frieze, console brackets supporting a cornice, and a central roundel above with a marble relief.

Left-Hand Suite of Rooms

The left-hand suite begins with the Dining Room, which has wall panels with inlaid guilloche-ornamented borders, a rich plaster frieze and cornice, and an enriched plaster ceiling consisting of wide bands with wheat-ear decoration, wreaths of vine leaves, and circular plaques in relief. Doorcases have console brackets supporting moulded cornices. The chimney-piece, probably by John Deval, consists of paired Ionic columns and an ornamented frieze with a central relief panel. An English carpet dating from circa 1800 is present.

The Library is austerely decorated with a palmette and urn frieze and a moulded cornice.

The West Anteroom or Anti-Library has an enriched plaster frieze and moulded cornice.

Lord Berwick's Study or The Octagon Room has an octagonal plan with unfluted pilasters with acanthus capitals. An enriched plaster frieze and moulded cornice with guilloche ornament on the soffit encircle the room. The dome features plaster arabesque enrichment and putti. Book cupboards are flanked by paired pilasters supporting a frieze and cornice, and have diamond-leaded doors. The chimney-piece is inlaid.

The ground floor east passage is groin vaulted with guilloche-ornamented bands.

The south-west pavilion contains the Outer Library, which has a giant order of Corinthian pilasters supporting an enriched plaster frieze and cornice. The ceiling is panelled with enriched plasterwork. Bookcases have grisaille panels above (the library was not inspected at the time of resurvey).

First-floor rooms contain moulded cornices and Neo-classical fireplaces. One room contains pilasters.

Historical Development

The house was built immediately in front of the early 18th-century Tern Hall, now largely demolished. Steuart's original scheme proposed an entrance hall, much as built, leading into a domed circular staircase hall with an axial corridor leading in turn to a two-storey library occupying the centre of the old Tern Hall. Initially as built, a screen of coupled columns divided the entrance hall from a more modest staircase hall, and Tern Hall was used as offices or servants' accommodation. Nothing survives of this arrangement, as the screen was blocked by Nash in 1807 when the picture gallery and new staircase were built. The house contains Steuart's original plans and drawings, including those showing the alternative scheme for the staircase and library. There is also a watercolour by Augustus Charles Pugin showing the picture gallery with oval lights instead of those as executed.

Significance

The house is important as a largely unaltered late 18th-century mansion showing the influence of French Neo-classicism, and also in the early use of structural cast iron in the picture gallery.

Park and Landscape

The Park was initially laid out by Thomas Leggett between 1769 and 1772, but is now largely the result of Humphry Repton's recommendations in his Red Book of 1797–98. The bridge, ha-ha, and most of the planting probably date from this time. The Red Book is kept in the house.