The Former Tennis Court, Hewell Grange

The Former Tennis Court at Hewell Grange is a covered real tennis court dating to around 1820, designed by Thomas Cundy Snr. in a Neo-Classical style, with later alterations around 1891, likely by Bodley and Garner. The building is constructed of brick with colourwashed stucco render, and has a slate roof. Four Coade stone statues are located at the western end.

The court’s layout follows the traditional jeu dedans pattern, with the serving end situated towards the west. The original penthouses on the east, west and north sides have been removed, although the tambour, a buttress-shaped playing surface, remains at the south-east corner. Large windows run along the upper walls, accompanied by an exterior maintenance balcony. A portico tops the entrance and changing rooms at the western end.

The western end of the building features three projecting bays with relieving arches, connected by a continuous band and keystones. Two of these bays have blank doorways, while the third provides an entrance. A balustrade with vase-shaped balusters and square piers supports four Coade stone caryatids, modelled on those of the Erechtheion. These support a flat-roofed porch with a wooden entablature, a dentiled cornice, and projecting, plain paterae within the frieze. A circular opening with a moulded surround and plain barge boards is set within the gable end wall above the porch. The sides of the building have plain brickwork at their base, above which is a continuous row of eleven large windows, each containing 7x9 panes of glass, separated by square pilasters with moulded caps and bases. A cast iron walkway, featuring decorative handrail panels in a lattice pattern, extends around the building, supported by brackets fixed to the exterior of the windows. A late 20th-century brick retaining wall projects from the southern flank wall near the eastern end, extending beyond the tennis court building.

Inside, the upper wall windows are divided by wooden pilasters with moulded bases and caps, mirroring the exterior design. The ceiling above the long flank walls curves outwards in a generous quadrant on each side, constructed of wooden boarding. The central ceiling section is flat, originally open to allow light from a pitched skylight along the roof ridge. The tambour at the south-east corner terminates at the level of the projecting window ledge which continues along the east and west walls, marking the playing limit.

The buttressed brick retaining wall along the south-east flank of the building has been excluded from the listing as it is not considered to be of special architectural or historic interest.