Cell Park

Cell Park is a country house of considerable complexity, reflecting multiple periods of development from the 16th century onwards.

The eastern part dates to 1539-40 and was built for Humphrey Bourchier on the site of a suppressed priory of Benedictine Nuns, which had been founded in 1145 by Abbot Geoffrey of St. Albans with Christina of Markyate as its first prioress. The priory was dissolved in 1537. The southern range dates to around 1600 for the Ferrers family but was remodelled in the mid-17th century for Thomas Coppin (died 1662). This remodelling introduced a brick southern elevation and two large rear stair towers similar to those at Aston Bury, Hertfordshire. A long mid-17th century western range was fronted by a two-storey classical range around 1734 for John Coppin. A single-storey library was added at its northern end, probably for Reverend John Pittman-Coppin, who owned the property from 1781 to 1794.

The house was drastically remodelled in 1825-26 by Robert Lugar for Daniel Goodson Adey, transforming it into a compact rectangular house with corner turrets and a central porch added to the southern front, plus a new matching western front. An arcade linked these to low service buildings to the north. The western range was demolished as part of this work. The building suffered fire damage in 1840. Early 20th-century alterations for Sir John de Fontblaque Pennefather involved moving the main entrance to the north side, creating a remodelled courtyard where the former main entrance feature was re-used on the northern end of the carriageway through the northern range. The arcade became a ballroom.

The eastern part consists of flint with Totternhoe stone dressings and a chequered front, with walling of stone and knapped flints. The upper part on the south comprises red brick with stone pilasters. The remainder of the southern front features narrow 17th-century red brick in English bond, refaced on the ground floor and above the sills of attic windows in 19th-century Flemish-bond brickwork, which is used on the whole western elevation. The 19th-century turrets and windows on the south have bluish brick quoins and reddish window dressings, partly obscured by later stucco surrounds. The porch has Bath stone mullioned windows with carved jambs, one replacing the former entrance and copied from one above on the first floor. The courtyard of lower buildings is in plain brick. The roofs are of steep old red tile.

The building stands as a large isolated mansion on a terraced hillslope in the middle of a large landscaped park. It is two storeys with attics and cellars, asymmetrical in plan, designed in Tudor style.

The eastern part contains a 16th-century two-storey service crosswing extending as a gabled projection to the rear, with a large contemporary chimney stack projecting on the eastern side near the southern end of the wing. The enlarged base is said to contain a closed-up secret chamber entered over the chimney-piece in the upper room. Much 13th-century moulded stonework is built into the northern part of the eastern sidewall, with repairs in red brick at the wall head. Two two-light moulded stone windows are irregularly placed. The southern front of this part has on the ground floor a large five-light moulded 16th-century stone window with Tudor arched head to each light and moulded stone label over. A similar 16th-century two-light mullioned stone window stands to the left of the larger window. Three- and four-light similar mullioned windows on the first floor are of painted oak set in brickwork over a stone string course with stone pilasters at the ends and in the middle. In the western wall of the 16th-century flint crosswing, over a metre thick, is a depressed pointed stone archway partly exposed over a corridor with three moulded orders: chamfer, hollow chamfer, and chamfer on each face. Three diagonally set square brick shafts sit atop the eastern chimney.

The remainder of the southern front is much taller, presenting a three-windows-wide symmetrical design with narrow square projecting turrets at the angles rising higher with an octagonal stage and ogee caps with vanes. Three gables are linked by parapets, with the centre gable triangular and the side ones shaped. A central two-storey rectangular projection, created in 1825-26 as the entrance porch, rises with strapwork cresting above the parapet and corner finials. Mullioned and transomed moulded windows are mostly of stucco but of Bath stone on the former porch, with rectangular leaded glazing. Narrow transomed false windows in the turrets have lattice leaded glazing. Groups of tall octagonal brick chimney shafts feature relief patterns of decoration.

The shorter western front has similar treatment with angle turrets, two windows between on each floor, a canted and a rectangular bay window, and triangular attic gables.

The irregular northern front, facing into the courtyard, has a stone and flint 16th-century projecting gabled wing at the eastern end, two tall 17th-century red brick gabled projections fronted by the lower entrance block, and the end of the 1825 western range. A two-storey entrance porch with a carved stone plaque over a round-arched entrance with pendant keystone and moulded imposts opens to a courtyard. Single-storey ranges run around the northern, eastern and western sides of the court with an arched carriageway through the northern range. The outer northern end is decorated by Portland stone monolithic three-quarter Doric columns with a Bath stone round arch and entablature. A stepped gable over an old stone plaque with carved strapwork contains an old lion head and pendant keystone set in the arch; the older stonework and columns presumably come from the former southern entrance. Adjoining the northern end of the eastern wall is a wide four-centred archway in brick with a bell in a triangular gable over. This was formerly the carriage entrance to the northern courtyard when it was a stable court, but was blocked in the 20th century by a linking corridor.

The interior contains heavy plain ceiling beams in the eastern part and a classical early 19th-century white marble reeded fire surround with carved urns on the corner blocks and centre panel, and a decorated cast-iron basket grate in the nursery. The remainder reflects two periods: around 1825-26 and the early 20th century. From the earlier period comes a Jacobean-style oak staircase running round three sides of an open well with moulded string, rusticated square newels and tall pierced finials. Oak double doors at the foot have a vigorous Jacobean doorcase with double pilasters, fluted entablature and brackets with acorn drops. This stands on the axis of the former southern entrance hall, now thrown together with the large adjoining room to the east as the Billiard Room. This room has a rich plaster ceiling of moulded ribs in geometric patterns with charges in the spaces, an arcaded deep frieze with Ionic pilasters, and oak scratch-moulded panelling. A four-centred Tudor-arched stone fireplace with carved strapwork band at the top dominates; similar stone fireplaces appear in most rooms. The somewhat less heavy plaster ceiling in the south-eastern room on the eastern part's ground floor is similar to that in the Billiard Room but probably dates from after 1910, when the RCHM reported the room as a kitchen.

From the second period come accomplished moulded plaster decorations to many ceilings throughout the house, especially a segmental vault with bands of vine-scroll decoration in the Ballroom in the western link block. These are executed in the Arts and Crafts style and suggest the work of Bankardt.