Sparsholt Manor, And Associated Garden Buildings And Features

Sparsholt Manor is a country house built in 1922–23 for Samuel Bostock, designed by architects Harry Inigo Triggs (1876–1923) and Gerald Unsworth (1883–1946). The house reflects the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement and Domestic Revival style. It has undergone modest alterations in the late 20th century.

The building is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond with tile roofs, tile-hanging, and leaded casements throughout. It is planned as an H-block of three storeys, with the second floor within the roof space, accompanied by a contemporary service wing to the west of two storeys. The internal arrangement is organised around a central north corridor that forms a long entrance hall on the ground floor and a landing for bedroom access above. Most rooms open to the south, facing the gardens. The principal rooms include a library in the north-east corner, a sitting room in the south-east corner with the master bedroom above, a drawing room and dining room along the southern side, and service rooms to the west with a back-stair.

The principal southern elevation overlooking the gardens is broadly symmetrical except for the service wing. The main block features a pair of large matching gables flanked by loggias with hipped roofs, barley-sugar brick piers, and decorative iron brackets. A central set-back portion contains three hipped dormers, a shallow lean-to roof at ground floor level over a central curving bay window, and three prominent decorative brick chimney stacks arranged symmetrically. The entire upper storey is tile-hung in plain and fish-scale tiles, with extensive leaded windows in horizontal ranks. The north entrance elevation is asymmetric, with two projecting gables, a deep roof, decorative tile-hanging, and varied fenestration all with leaded lights. The west and east elevations are also asymmetric, with the west elevation displaying particularly dramatic massing through a deep roof punctuated by the service wing's hipped roof, dormers, and chimneys.

The interior retains many original features: numerous fireplaces, wood panelling, exposed floorboards, cornices, moulded architraves, and panelled internal doors. Timber-framed casement windows with leaded lights are complemented by brass door furniture and decorative iron window furniture. A notable 17th-century panelled overmantle in the library fireplace is carved with linenfold pilasters and zoomorphic plaques, possibly from Lainston House, given the Bostock family connections. Early 20th-century fireplaces display varied forms: the hall and dining room fireplaces are of brick with panelled overmantles, whilst others are simpler with wooden surrounds and tile decoration, often featuring cast iron grates. Fireplaces survive in the majority of rooms. Both staircases have solid timber balustrades with square newels. A dumb waiter is present in the service wing, and servants' bells are distributed throughout much of the first floor. Some modernisation has occurred, particularly in the service wing where the kitchen has been opened up.

The ancillary features form part of the overall composition and are included in the listing. The garden hard-landscaping is largely by Triggs, though with some restoration; a late 20th-century patio to the south-west of the house has been added tastefully. Original features include stone dwarf walls of the terrace and sunken garden, brick piers, a paved Yorkstone terrace, a stone rill and pools, a brick and timber pergola with cast iron bell concluded by a brick gazebo with a tile roof (featuring a bell-like profile that kicks out at the eaves), brick walls to the kitchen garden, and ancillary buildings to the west of the house. These structures comprise a coach house, stable block, and a quirky gardener's toilet, all in red brick with tiled roofs. The stable retains some of the cast iron posts from the former stalls. The coach house has experienced internal fire damage and is included for its external merits. Gate piers to the drive are modern and are not of special interest.

Samuel Bostock, the owner of the nearby 17th-century Lainston House (Grade II*), commissioned Sparsholt Manor after the family sold Lainston House in 1921. Triggs was both an architect and garden designer, employing both skills at Sparsholt. He worked for several architectural practices before becoming a partner with W.F. Unsworth, operating from offices in Petersfield. Gerald Unsworth later joined the practice, and the two designed this house alongside many others in Hampshire, Sussex, and Surrey. Due to ill-health, Triggs spent time in Switzerland and Italy, where he also designed gardens and buildings, including Villa Guardamunt and a house at Chasellas, both reported in The Builder in 1904 and 1906. He was working on the Anglo-American church at Taormina, Sicily, at the time of his death. His obituary in the Architectural Review in 1923 notes that he was working on a house at Sparsholt. Triggs became better known for his garden design than his architectural work and was recognised as an authority on the subject, publishing several books including "Formal Gardens in England and Scotland" (1902), "The Art of Garden Design in Italy" (1906), and "Garden Craft in Europe" (1913). The influence of continental gardens is evident in the garden at Sparsholt Manor.