Croome Court

Croome Court is a country house built between 1751 and 1752 by Lancelot (Capability) Brown, with advice from Sanderson Miller, and interior work from 1760 by Robert Adam. It was commissioned for the 6th Earl of Coventry. The house is constructed of limestone ashlar and is designed in the Palladian style, with eleven bays on both the north and south fronts, and three-storey end pavilions. It has a basement and two principal storeys, roofed with slate, with pyramidal roofs to the corner towers, and three paired axial chimneys linked by arches. A prominent five-bay division is present on the north front, crowned by a pediment, and a projecting tetrastyle Ionic portico on the south front. Balustrades and a modillion cornice decorate the flanking wings. Window architraves are moulded, ornamented with flat cornices on the ground floor of the main range, pediments to the north front pavilions, and Venetian windows to the south front pavilions. A Roman Doric doorcase with a curved pediment is located on the north front, while the south front features a flat cornice on consoles above the doorway. Chamfered quoins are present on the projecting centre and end pavilions. A wide, balustraded staircase with two arms leads to the north entrance, and a straight flight of steps flanked by cast stone sphinxes approaches the south entrance.

The interior combines features by Brown, with plasterwork by G Vassalli, and significant contributions from Robert Adam with plasterwork by J Rose Jr. Two Adam rooms were later removed and relocated to New York and London. A spine corridor features a stone staircase with a moulded underside and iron balustrade to the east.

On the north side, the entrance hall has four fluted Doric columns and Palladian doorcases. To the east is a dining room with a plaster cornice and original pelmets, while to the west is a billiard room with fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a Rococo fireplace. To the south side, a fine central Saloon boasts an elaborate coved ceiling with three embellished panels, a rich cornice, Palladian doorcases, and two marble Ionic columned fireplaces. At the west end is a Gallery from 1764, featuring a half-hexagonal bay overlooking the garden, an elaborate octagonal panelled ceiling by J Rose, plaster reliefs of griffins, painted grisaille panels, and a marble caryatid fireplace by J Wilton. A service wing, constructed of red brick and stone with slate hipped roofs, is attached to the east end.

A red brick wall connects the service wing to a stable court. This includes two rusticated stone gate piers, one retaining a ball finial.