Oakhurst Hall

Oakhurst Hall

House designed in 1853 in Jacobean Revival style by Thomas Nicholson, the diocesan architect for Hereford, for Rowland Jones Venables and his family. The building was substantially altered in the mid-20th century by country architect AG Chant and architect CH Simmons, with further alterations in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The house is constructed of coursed stone with ashlar quoins and dressings. The hipped roofs are covered in slate tiles with clay ridge tiles. Stone chimney stacks (now truncated) rise from the structure, and the windows feature stone mullions with timber casements, some of which have been replaced with modern versions. Cast-iron downpipes with hoppers, dated 1854, have square profiles; some have been replaced with aluminium equivalents.

The building is two storeys high with a cellar beneath. The principal house has a rectangular footprint with an axial corridor running west to east, principal rooms positioned to the south, and the staircase and dining room to the north. To the north lies a service range comprising various service rooms, such as the Butler's Pantry, arranged around a courtyard. The south passage with its service stair and cellar access has been retained but reconfigured, and the east side of the service range has been converted into a separate dwelling.

The principal elevations display shaped gables to the outer bays and semi-circular ornamented frontons above the principal first-floor windows. A continuous plat band runs across the facades, decorated with patera and fluting detail. The three-bay entrance elevation on the west features a central stone porch with a moulded round arch, imposts, and keystones, flanked by pilasters raised on plinths. The pilasters are ornamented with strap work and multi-faceted stone carving in the prismatic ornamentation style of the 16th and 17th centuries. Above the porch is a balustrade with interlocking quatrefoils. The five-bay south elevation includes a full-height canted bay at the centre, ornamented with scrolled and fleur-de-lys detailing at the top. The three-bay east elevation formerly featured a cast-iron loggia, now removed; a canted bay with sash windows has been added between this range and the extended service range. The service range has been extended to the north and east in brick, with the east elevations faced in stone.

Internally, the principal open-well staircase is separated from the main entrance hall by a pair of round-headed arches with keystones. The staircase comprises tapered and pierced newel posts with multi-faceted detail and balusters featuring moulded and ramped handrails. Throughout the principal rooms are decorative cornices and joinery including panelled doors, architraves, and window and door shutters. Mid-19th century fireplaces of various styles, including Louis XIV and Regency, are distributed through the rooms.

The service range is plainer and more extensively altered. It retains some original joinery including the service stair with chamfered newel posts and stick balusters. The brick cellar features arches and slate shelves. The east side of the service range has been largely remodelled and reconfigured with late 20th to early 21st century joinery and plasterwork of lesser architectural interest. The first floor retains mid-19th century fireplaces and is less substantially altered.