St Albans Court

NONINGTON ST.ALBANS COURT TR 25 SE 3/157 St.Albans Court 13.10.52 GV I Country mansion. 1875-78 by George Devey for William Oxenden Hammond. Ragstone ground floor with brick upper floor with ragged edge between the two. Limestone dressings. Planned round 3 sides of north courtyard. Elizabethan style of picturesque irregularity with tall clusters of polygonal stacks, straight sided gables and bay windows, partly semi-circular and partly polygonal. Main entrance in north U-shaped courtyard through four-centred doorway with dripstone and spandrels in the centre bay of 3 gabled bays with polygonal tower with castellated parapet to south west. Semi-circular oriel bay window with parapet above entrance doorway. S.W. front with 1:2:1 gables with storeyed semi-circular bay window in front of truncated northernmost gable with adjoining chimney breast to north and with 8 light canted and storeyed bay window in front of southernmost gable.S.E. elevation with large gable on south and beyond it a stone doorway then 5 gables to north east, the left hand one truncated by a chimney breast and with the lofty transomed and mullioned semi-circular bay window with pierced parapet to hall rising at the junction between the first and second of 5 gables. North-easternmost gabled bay projects forward. Set back and to the north east are service wings with full height gabled bay and tower at north-east end. Interior; internal features of interest include 2 storey hall beyond entrance hall; this has gallery on first floor. Panelled walls with stairs rising through lofty basket arched doorway on the north west side; ornate Jacobean fireplace from Northbourne Court adjoining lofty bow window. Elsewhere, ribbed ceiling panels, panelled walls; fireplace surrounds;doors etc. Panelled dining room with fine chimney piece from Northbourne Court. The best of Devey's later houses. (see Country Life, April 8 1971; see also M. Girouard, The Victorian Country House,1979; see also B.O.E.Kent II,1983,404-5)

Listing NGR: TR2635752640