Folly Farmhouse And Entrance Court To East

A farmhouse now used as a house, located on the west side of Sulhamstead Hill. The building dates from circa 1650 and was substantially enlarged by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1906 in a free William and Mary style, with further additions in 1911 in a Neo-Vernacular style. The north wing is of 17th-century date with 1914 alterations.

The main structures are constructed of red brick, timber framed with red brick nogging and plaster panels, beneath an old tile roof. The eastern front displays 1 storey to the right and 2 storeys to the left, with 3 framed bays (the rightmost dating to 1914). A hipped eaves dormer to the rear contains a 2-light casement. The façade is articulated with a large mullioned and transomed window to the right, 2 first-floor 2-light casements to the left, and 2 ground-floor 3-light casements flanked by 2-light casements. A panelled door between the first and second windows from the left is flanked by a 18th-century carved architrave with console brackets supporting a cornice.

The east block is constructed of grey brick with red brick and ashlar dressings, beneath a hipped old tile roof, arranged in an H-plan. The south front features a one-storey centre with 2-storey wings. Detailing includes gauged window heads, ground-floor window aprons, chainage, chamfered quoins, a plat band, 2 central ridge stacks on the wings with arched panels, and a stack with 2 hipped semi-dormers to the rear. The 3-bay centre contains 3 tall central segmental-headed 6-light mullioned and transomed leaded windows, with 2-light leaded casements in the wings. The 2-bay return fronts feature 2-light leaded casements to the north, first-floor blind circular windows to the south, and glazed doors beneath with moulded architraves, central uncarved blocks above, pulvinated frieze, and cornice. The east front displays a central first-floor 2-light leaded casement with louvred shutters, a ground-floor 2-light leaded casement to the left, and a central doorway with moulded architrave and blank panel above, with an off-set door behind.

The west block is constructed of red brick with some first-floor tile hanging to the left, a weatherboarded gable end to the south, and an old tile roof with a catslide over a loggia to the south-east. It follows an irregular T-plan with a circular dairy to the north, rising to 1½ and 2 storeys. The south elevation features 2 hipped dormers with 2-light leaded casements and one to the east. A large 2-storey hipped canted bay to the west comprises a battered ground floor with arches to north and south, and an open first floor with a balustraded sleeping balcony. A large stack adjoins the sleeping balcony to the north, with a central rectangular dummy shaft flanked by 2 diamond shafts. The south front includes a square pool courtyard to the right, consisting of an L-shaped loggia with battered piers, 4 bays to the right with glazed doors behind, and 3 bays in the left-hand return front with 2-light casements behind and a round arch at the south end. A projecting square porch stands in the angle, with steps into the pool at the north-west and south-east corners. A 2-storey canted bay in the left-hand gable end contains leaded mullioned and transomed windows.

The entrance court is approximately 10 metres square, enclosed by red brick panelled walls with tiled coping, approximately 3 metres high. Central semi-circular arches to the north, south and west feature segmental relieving arches with tiled spandrels; the arch to the west contains a gate with a radial fanlight. The wall extends to the north-east to connect with the barn.

The interior of the 1906 block features a central double-height hall with a coved ceiling and first-floor balconies at each end, with a fireplace to the north. The drawing room has arched glazed cupboards flanking the fireplace. The 1912 block contains a dining room with frescoes by Sir William Nicholson and a very large chimneypiece, along with a panelled library. Free Arts and Crafts fittings are found throughout.

The gardens were designed by Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll.