Oakley Court Hotel

Oakley Court Hotel

A very large Victorian Gothic mansion, dating to 1859, set in landscaped grounds beside the River Thames. The building is now used as a hotel and conference centre. It was altered and extended in the late 20th century by the architects Nellist, Blundell and Flint.

The building is constructed of buff brick with Portland stone and Bath stone dressings. The roof is clad in fishscale tiles with ornamental ridge cresting. The plan is irregular, comprising sections of varying heights: one, two, and three storeys. A former lower service wing and courtyard known as Nulli Secundus, which adjoins on the south, has been converted to a conference centre.

A prominent castellated tower rises above the south-east front. The roofline is emphasised by crow-stepped gables with flanking pinnacles and finials surmounted by heraldic beasts. Machicolated and crenellated angle and stair turrets punctuate the elevations. Several chimneys feature offset heads with ornamental terracotta pots.

Windows throughout the main building are Perpendicular in style with mullioned frames and traceried heads. Carved stops ornament the drip moulds. Some windows are set within canted and oriel bays. The north-west (entrance) front features a single-storey porte-cochere and entrance lobby projecting forward of the main facade, with a flat roof and moulded pointed-arched openings. Three-stage angle buttresses flank the north-west side of the porte-cochere. The main front behind displays two large crow-step gables, the right-hand gable being taller and slightly projecting. The former courtyard wall, constructed of curved brick with moulded recessed panels, adjoins this front. A pair of large chamfered ashlar gate piers with heavy moulded tops marks the courtyard entrance. The courtyard interior has been infilled with a modern conference centre.

The south-east (garden) front presents a picturesque composition of three gables of different heights. A three-storey canted bay adjoins the three-stage tower, which has single-light windows and a machicolated and crenellated crown. To the left stands the former service wing, plainer in character and of brick construction with casement windows set in lighter brick dressings beneath pointed-arched heads. Near the centre of this wing is a clock tower in three stages. The lower stage is brick; the upper stage is painted wood with two louvred openings beneath cusped heads recessed within cusp-headed panels on each face. Above sits a small hipped roof with two small gabled and louvred dormers. A clock stage surmounts this, with moulded surrounds containing clock faces on all sides. A spirelet with gables at its foot and a weathervane at the top crowns the composition.

The interior contains several very fine principal rooms. The white lounge features raised and moulded wall panelling with a plaster ceiling enriched with garlands and floral motifs. An elaborate frieze and cornice ornament the room. A pair of matching wooden fireplaces with Caryatid pilasters display marble insets within carved and moulded architraves. Each fireplace has an elaborate frieze decorated with garlands, set beneath a moulded arched head. Two elaborate window embrasures are fitted with fluted colonnettes, balustrades, and delicate open-work in the spandrels. Large panelled double doors with applied decorative motifs and beading provide access to the room.

The ante-room or bar is lined with linenfold panelling and features a Tudor-style moulded and coffered ceiling. The staircase hall contains a full-height open-well staircase with elaborately scrolled and twisted iron balusters. A moulded handrail is supported by large chamfered newels with moulded tops. Moulded plaster ceilings and wall friezes, together with panelled dado and doors, continue throughout. The entrance lobby adjoining the staircase hall maintains this style and is floored with encaustic tiles.