Hartlebury Castle

Hartlebury Castle

A bishop's palace of 15th-century origin with substantial late 17th-century and mid- to late 18th-century extensions, together with 1960s remodelling. The principal 18th-century work was undertaken by Henry Keene and James Smith of Shifnal. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar and brick, with a hipped slate roof to the front and tile roof to the rear.

The castle follows a U-plan with the main block aligned north to south. The northern end contains a 15th-century hall and an 18th-century saloon (built within the existing 15th-century walls). Behind the hall to the west is a former long gallery, subdivided into private rooms during the 1960s remodelling, with an 18th-century library above. The southern range includes a 15th-century chapel projecting eastward with the Bishop's study behind it. Between this range and the saloon is the entrance hall with staircase, above which sits the Prince Regent's Bedroom. The north range, dating from the late 17th century, was originally the kitchen wing and now houses the Hereford and Worcester County Museum.

The east front features a symmetrical central block of one storey with a crenellated parapet, a central porch, and six windows. These have glazing bar sashes beneath 2-centred heads with Gothick glazing, installed around 1760-1770. The porch dates to around 1680 and has a semi-circular pediment flanked by ball finials, bearing the arms of Bishop Fleetwood (1675-1683). The door is set in a lugged architrave and is panelled. An octagonal cupola in Chinoiserie Gothick style rises from the roof, with a wind direction indicator connected to the weather vane at its front.

The central block is flanked by two wings which project forward for two storeys with attics lit by three hipped dormers. These wings have four windows in slight forward breaks (the walls date to around 1680, the sashes to approximately 1760-1770), with 20-pane sashes to the first floor and ground floor windows matching the central block but of less height. Beyond these wings are the chapel projecting to the left and a balancing wing to the right. The chapel has diagonal buttresses and three stepped lancets (the central one larger) in a recessed panel with a 4-centred head, dating to around 1750. Four 2-centred headed windows with Y-tracery face into the courtyard. The balancing wing has two windows: a 20-pane sash to the left and 2-light mid-20th-century casements to the right, with ground floor windows matching the central block.

Interior features are substantial. The hall retains its 15th-century five-bay roof of arch-braced collar trusses with a ceiling inserted just above the collar line. The wall posts rest on corbels. A fireplace in the centre of the west wall has a bolection-moulded surround and overmantel dating to the late 17th century. A geometrical staircase at the north end, with a late 18th-century cast iron handrail, leads to the kitchen range. The entrance from the porch at the south end is set within a tall recess with a 4-centred head and moulded jambs and arch, reflected by a similar feature in the west wall above opposing doors.

The saloon was decorated around 1760 in Rococo style with papier-maché applied to walls and ceiling. The ceiling panels represent music scores and wind instruments, while each wall has two large panels framing spaces for portraits. The entrance hall contains an overmantel with a landscape painting by Zuccarelli, originally in the saloon and formerly from Bishop Hurd's (1781-1808) London house.

The chapel was designed by Henry Keene around 1750 and features a plaster fan vault with Gothick-style panelling, stalls, reredos, and Bishop's pew. The east window contains late 19th-century glass, with remnants of 18th-century glazing by J. Rowell surviving in the window heads.

The Bishop's study retains late 17th-century bolection-moulded panelling. The Prince Regent's Bedroom is a plain room with pelmets dating to around 1807 to match the bed hangings, with a similar pelmet in the adjoining dressing room.

The library, dating to 1782, was designed by James Smith of Shifnal and executed by Joseph Bromfield of Shrewsbury. It has a tripartite plan with a bow window to the middle of the west wall, divisions marked by Ionic columns. The outer compartments each contain three bays of bookcases. The main part has a coved ceiling with a small central saucer dome. Two bookcases flank the central fireplace on the east wall, each with a scrolled pediment. The columns are marbled and the bookcases grained.

A moat surrounds the house, with the east side filled in; water remains to the west. A bishop's palace has occupied this site since at least the mid-13th century. Hartlebury Castle represents one of the most significant early works of the Gothick Revival, predating Strawberry Hill, and was partly inspired by Batty Langley's pattern books, particularly evident in the screen between the chapel and the ante-chapel.