Durrington Hall

Durrington Hall is a country house built in the mid-18th century, with extensions added in the late 19th century. The house is constructed of plastered brickwork, exposed on the north-west elevation, with a slate roof. The original square plan is oriented approximately southwest, and features internal chimney stacks near the west corner and in the middle of the southeast side. A late 19th-century extension extends to the northeast, with chimney stacks near the north and south corners. The house is two storeys high with attics.

The main elevation has a ground-floor porch with a modillioned pediment, supported by two fluted Corinthian columns on plinths and two fluted Corinthian pilasters. Semi-circular niches flank the porch, and the original section of the front has two bays, each with three double-hung sash windows of 24 and 18 lights. The first floor displays a 1:3:1 arrangement of Venetian windows and double-hung sash windows, the latter having 12 lights each, with a detached segmental head over the central window. Rectangular recesses are located on the exterior of both floors. A modillioned cornice extends across the front, topped by a pediment featuring a circular light and floral design. Pedimented dormers are on either side; the northern dormer has six lights, while the southern one is decorative and dummy. A hipped roof completes the design. The overall impression is one of symmetry, although the diagonal grouping of shafts on the south chimney stack disrupts the regularity.

The garden (southeast) elevation has seven windows on the ground floor, of varying types, all with cornices. The first floor features seven double-hung sash windows, five in the original building with pedimented heads, and two in the 19th-century extension, which are larger and have cornices. A modillioned cornice runs across both parts of the elevation. Three dormers are present in the original building, the central one with a segmental pediment, and the others triangular.

The interior retains complete door and doorcase detailing, panelling, and fireplaces, with the exception of the fireplace in the south first-floor room, which is blocked. An oak staircase features three turned balusters per tread, with scrolled ends. Within the entrance hall, two inserted Ionic columns support a beam with a Greek key design on its soffit, dating from the early 19th century.

Historical records state that in 1771, Mulman described Durrington Hall as “a capital mansion… built about a mile south-west from the church.” He identified Samuel Feake as the owner, who built the house after inheriting the estate from his father, who had acquired it at the collapse of the South Sea Company in 1720. This information, alongside the architectural style, suggests construction occurred a decade or two prior to Mulman’s publication. The architect remains unknown. An engraving depicts the house in its essential features, including the bays, although showing fewer glazing bars. A coach house was originally located to the northwest, featuring a square clock tower and cupola; while the original coach house is now gone, the clock tower and cupola appear to have been transferred to a 19th-century coach house approximately 60 metres north of the main house.