Hanbury Hall

HANBURY HALL

Country house in a landscaped park, dated 1701, built by William Rudhall for Thomas Vernon. The house incorporates elements from designs by William Talman and shows similarities to nearby Ragley Hall by Robert Hooke. Hanbury Hall remained the seat of the Vernon family until 1953, when it was given to the National Trust.

The building is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond with ashlar dressings, beneath a plain tiled hipped roof with broad eaves and large brick stacks. It comprises a central block with wings to front and rear that project as independent pavilions on the side elevations. The house is two storeys with an attic, the attic lit by pedimented dormers and a central octagonal cupola. A moulded plinth, band between storeys, and wood modillion eaves cornice are features of the Queen Anne style.

The south-east entrance elevation is arranged as 3:1:3:1:3 bays, with the outer three bays forming wings and the central three bays breaking forward under a pediment, flanked by engaged Corinthian columns on high pedestals. Windows are primarily 18-pane sashes with thick glazing bars, moulded architraves, sills and keyblocks. The central first-floor window has an elaborately carved surround with large scrolls and an apron carved with the Vernon coat of arms flanked by the date "1701". The pedimented dormers are alternately segmental in the central five bays and contain 12-pane sash windows. An oeil-de-boeuf window is set within the central entrance pediment. The entrance porch, an early 19th-century addition, has two Corinthian columns and entablature, with glazed infill to front and sides and half-glazed double entrance doors within. The octagonal timber cupola was rebuilt in 1809 with glazed semi-circular headed sides, clockfaces to front and rear, a moulded cornice and an ogee dome with ball finial and weathervane. Decorated lead rainwater goods throughout feature lions' heads and rosettes.

The south-west side elevation shows a regular 2:7:2 arrangement. The north-east side elevation is of 3:4:2 composition, with a blocked doorway with pedimented surround in the left bay of the recessed centre. The rear elevation includes two small square mid-19th-century additions in the angles formed with the wings.

Interior features include a hall occupying five central front bays, panelled and with a painted ceiling showing trompe l'oeil saucer domes. The wall facing the entrance contains an original bolection-moulded chimney-piece above which is a niche holding a white marble bust of Thomas Vernon, possibly by Francis Bird. Three Corinthian half-columns are set against the right wall, with the staircase positioned to the left.

The staircase is a large open-well type with turned and fluted balusters and some original parquet on landings. Wall paintings by Sir James Thornhill, dated around 1710, depict scenes from the Life of Achilles within architectural surrounds, with a ceiling showing an assembly of classical deities. The former dado has been removed to accommodate these paintings. Two further panels by Thornhill appear on the ceiling of the Long Room, depicting Apollo and Leukothea and the Rape of Orithyia. The Long Room contains an ornate Rococo chimney-piece dating from around 1750.

Late 18th-century internal alterations undertaken by Emma Vernon include redecoration of the Library and Drawing Room in the front wings in Neo-Classical style. The Parlour to the rear of the Hall contains further panelling and another bolection-moulded chimney-piece. Upstairs, a three-room apartment known as the Hercules apartment, to the rear of the south-west wing, is panelled throughout and contains a bolection-moulded chimney-piece, together with a smaller corner fireplace with pilastered surround and ogee canopy.

The authorship of Hanbury Hall remains uncertain. The design incorporates elements from William Talman's work, particularly the centrepiece of Thoresby in Nottinghamshire (1680s), the garden front at Swallowfield Park in Berkshire (1689-91), and the interior layout of Fetcham Park in Surrey (1705). It also bears strong similarities to Ragley Hall in Warwickshire (1679-83) by Robert Hooke, with its old-fashioned hipped roof, central pediment and pavilion wings. A surviving drawing by the builder William Rudhall resembles Thoresby, and it is possible that Rudhall may have worked at Ragley, suggesting his design for Hanbury could represent an amalgamation of these two influences.