Wilburton Manor

Wilburton Manor

Wilburton Manor is a Gothic country house built between 1848 and 1851 to designs by AWN Pugin and constructed by George Myers. It now serves as a school.

The building is constructed of red brick with masonry dressings and a clay-tiled roof. It is roughly rectangular in plan, oriented north-south, with an axial wing to the south and projecting sections at the north end. The interior follows a 'pinwheel' arrangement.

The house is a two-storey structure with attic and basement. It features a steeply pitched roof of clay tiles with stone copings and decorative kneelers, and groups of tall octagonal brick chimney stacks. Window openings and corners are dressed with masonry quoins. At the principal south end, windows have cusped lights and a run of small trefoiled openings above.

The north-west front elevation is irregularly fenestrated. The main entrance, positioned towards the right, is a boarded door set in a pointed arched opening with hood mould. A large gable to the right contains a curtailed former chimney breast and a small oriel window. Above this is a carved shield and date stone inscribed with 1888 and the initials AP. This section has a projecting brick and masonry base course and a masonry string course. Window openings are square-headed with trefoil-headed lights. To the left, large windows light the stair hall, with two further trefoil-headed windows and a series of irregular transomed and mullioned windows beyond. One window between ground and first floor marks the service stair. At the far left is a projecting linked gabled section.

The south-west elevation has a base course and string course with large mullioned and transomed windows to the ground floor featuring cusped and trefoiled heads. A two-leaf door with a three-centred arch and decorative carved spandrels is positioned near the centre. The first floor has four windows of similar design to those below, one being a later insertion. An octagonal shouldered chimney stack with embattled stone cornices and octagonal pots rises between the windows. A gabled dormer appears to the left, with a later square-headed dormer to its right.

The south-east elevation formerly faced a formal sunken garden and now overlooks modern school buildings. The left side, containing principal family rooms, is more architecturally decorative than the right, with matching window designs, string course, and quoins. A broad gable at the far left contains a bay with windows to both floors. Towards the centre are two tri-partite windows on the ground floor and a further tri-partite and single light window above. The right side, separated by a buttress, has simpler window openings with later metal-framed units. Three long box dormers and a ventilation box are in the roof. At the far right is a gabled projection containing a later two-leaf door with a small ogee window above.

The northern end contained service areas surrounding a small courtyard. Part of this section has been heightened for additional accommodation. A small hall at the north-west corner of unclear historic use may reference a previous manorial court.

Interior

The interior has been altered during conversion to school use. Access is through a plain two-centred doorway entering a lobby with a red and black checked tile floor and a further internal boarded door with ornamental furniture. The main house follows the 'pinwheel' plan, centring on an open-well staircase hall leading to three main reception rooms at ground floor level. Large double doors with chamfered inset panels and moulded sides with carved finials connect the former drawing room and study. Cavities in each room indicate removed fireplaces. The double-height stair hall features the original staircase with balusters and shaped-head newel posts, rising in a dog leg. The ceiling is coffered with plain timber members; the floor has black and yellow tiles in a keyed design. A full-height glazed safety partition has been installed beside the staircase, and modern lino covers the stairs. The original kitchen fireplace survives; other fire surrounds have been removed. On the first floor, an arcade of Gothic arches once marked the landing; some have been enclosed with later partitions. Principal rooms have been subdivided with suspended ceilings and painted render finishes. The attic has been enlarged and converted to bedrooms.

The service area is accessed via a door beneath the stairs, with a service stair beyond retaining original joinery and newel post. A boarded Gothic door with heavy ornamental furniture also remains. A small full-height hall at the north-west of the main block has an exposed metal roof structure. A wine cellar in the basement retains original brick storage bays.