Beaumont College

Beaumont College is a large country house in parkland, now in use as offices and a training school. Located on Burfield Road in Old Windsor, it has a complex building history spanning more than three centuries.

The original house was built in 1705 by the architect James Gibbs for Lord Weymouth. In the early 19th century, it was substantially rebuilt and extended by Henry Emlyn of Windsor for Henry Griffiths. Further significant alterations and extensions followed in 1870 by the architect Hansom, and again in the late 20th century.

The building is constructed partly in painted stucco and partly in stock brick, with slate roofs of varying heights. The plan is complex, with the original house positioned to the north-west. A 20th-century extension adjoins it to the north-west in a similar style. The 19th-century extensions lie to the south-east of the original house, forming a large L-shaped footprint with a former service court to the north. The north side of this court is closed by the chapel, itself flanked by a 20th-century extension to its north and another 20th-century extension at the south end of the L.

The exterior is predominantly three storeys, with sections of two and four storeys. Several chimneys with clay pots are visible. The windows are sash windows with glazing bars, though some lack glazing bars.

The north-east front of the original house is based on the "Britannic Order", a design composed and published by Henry Emlyn, of which few examples survive. It is symmetrical with nine bays, a moulded cornice and parapet, and a striking three-bay central feature with a pediment and entablature decorated with Prince of Wales feathers in the frieze. The centrepiece is supported by two pairs of round columns at the centre and one pair of square columns at either side; these pairs merge at ground floor level with their joins covered by Garter insignia. The capitals are composite, also formed of patriotic devices. The first and second floors of the centrepiece are recessed, with a cast-iron balcony rail above the ground floor. The windows have moulded architraves. The ground floor windows have rounded arched heads with radiating glazing bars; the central window has a later wooden door inserted in its lower part, approached by three steps to a stylobate. The three-bay outer sections on either side each have a three-light canted bay on the ground floor with a balustraded parapet.

The south-west front of the original house has nine bays with a central three-bay projecting section, the centre ground floor window being a canted bay with balustraded parapet.

To the right of the original house is a late 19th-century section of two storeys and seven bays with a hipped roof. Its windows sit in stone surrounds, those on the ground floor having round arched heads. Adjoining this and forming the corner of the L is a late 19th-century block of three storeys with nine and six bays. At the south end of this section is a four-storeyed section with attics in the French Chateau style, comprising three bays with a steeply pitched pyramidal roof and a lucarne on each face. A moulded cornice arches over the top windows. Two large chimneys are joined by a decorative iron balustrade on the top of the roof.

The interior has been much altered, but retains a good geometrical staircase with an iron balustrade and handrail in an apsidal space in the original entrance hall.

The house was purchased by Warren Hastings in 1786 from the Duke of Cumberland on his return from India for £2,000. He lived there during part of his trial. Formerly known as Beaumont Lodge, it was purchased in 1854 by the Jesuits, who established a school for novices there.