Somerhill

Somerhill is a mansion with associated service buildings and stables, built 1611–13 for Richard, the fourth Earl of Clanricarde. Several lead rainwater heads and a datestone record the construction date. The main house was apparently built to plans provided by John Thorpe. Internally, it has been modernised several times since the early 17th century and now displays predominantly later features, particularly from around 1780 (probably for William Woodgate), around 1830 (for James Alexander), around 1879 (for Julian Goldsmid), and around 1930 (for Osmund d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, by Messrs E. B. Hoare and M. Wheeler according to Country Life, or Sir Herbert Baker according to the Department of Environment Register of Parks and Gardens). Parts of the service courtyard buildings date from the early 17th century but underwent major refurbishment around 1879. The stables courtyard was completely rebuilt in 1879, as recorded on the dated rainwater heads. As of 1988, the entire complex was undergoing major refurbishment and conversion to a school by the architectural practice Feilden and Mawson.

All the building ranges are constructed of coursed blocks of Calverly stone ashlar. The stacks are of similar masonry topped with brick and feature clusters of octagonal chimneyshafts. The roof is covered with red clay peg-tiles.

The House

Plan and Development

Somerhill is an important H-plan house, an advanced example of the transition between medieval and modern plan-types. According to Sir John Summerson, it is one of several Thorpe designs based on Palladio's plan for the Villa Valmarana at Lisiera. The house is built on a hilltop and faces west. The main block has a central entrance leading directly into the hall, which is set across the building from front to back. On either side, the house is two rooms deep. To the right (south) at the front is the main stair with a parlour behind, and the right crosswing contains a long library heated by three fireplaces. To the left (north), a corridor runs along the front to the crosswing. Behind the corridor is a large dining room. A service stair occupies the centre of the northern crosswing, with service rooms to the front and a two-room parlour suite to the rear. Small one-room plan turrets project from the north side at each end. This layout essentially results from 19th-century alterations, although the basic structure appears largely original.

Thorpe's original plan (illustrated in Country Life) shows the intended layout. The main stair was to be to the right of the hall but at the rear, and the right-hand (southern) crosswing was to contain three main rooms. To the left of the hall were two rooms, one on each side of a central axial passage from the hall to the service crosswing (this arrangement is preserved on the first floor). The kitchen may have been placed in the service courtyard rather than in the northern crosswing as shown on Thorpe's plan. The first floor contains suites of bedchambers on either side of the saloon, the great chamber over the hall. The turrets projecting from the north side do not appear on Thorpe's plan but seem to be shown in Turner's 1811 painting of the house (reproduced in Country Life). It is unclear whether they are original.

The house is two storeys with a half basement and attics in the roofspace.

Exterior

All four elevations present symmetrical gabled facades that are surprisingly unornamented for a house of this status from the early 17th century. The western (entrance) elevation has a 1:1:3:1:3:1-window front. The odd left-hand one-window section belongs to the southern turret. Most of the ground and first floor windows are simple stone mullion-and-transom windows, except at the ends of the crosswings and the centre of the main range, where there are larger canted bay windows with crenellated parapets. On the wings, these bays are confined to the ground floor, but disturbed masonry above suggests they were originally two storeys high, as they are on the rear of the house. Most, if not all, of the windows have replacement mullions and transoms and contain rectangular panes of leaded glass.

The bay window in the main block serves the saloon and sits above a shallow entrance porch with a crenellated parapet. The porch has a round-headed arch with a keystone carved with balls and nailheads, spandrels containing panelled circles, flanking fluted pilasters, triglyphs, and a moulded entablature. The entire front has a chamfered plinth, a flat band at first floor level, a moulded eaves cornice, and a parapet. The gables and corners are topped with ball finials. The gables and clusters of tall chimneyshafts contribute strongly to the appearance of the house.

The other sides continue in the same style. The right (southern) end has a symmetrical 3:1:3 window front with a central canted bay and includes two 19th- or 20th-century doorways with bolection-moulded frames. The rear (eastern) side has a 1:2:3:2:1-window front with a 20th-century doorway punched through the central bay window. The left (northern) end has a 2:1:2-window front facing the service courtyard and features a central doorway into the basement: a Tudor arch doorway beneath a stone pedimented hood resting on corbels.

One of the most remarkable survivals at Somerhill is the complete set of original ornamental lead rainwater heads and drainpipes. The rainwater heads are most elaborate on the main entrance front but all deserve close attention. Some are dated 1611 or 1613, and many include the initials of Robert and Frances Clanricarde.

Interior

The interior displays mostly the results of various 19th- and 20th-century modernisations, which for the most part imitate Jacobean style. Much work was carried out around 1920, including the wainscotting and chimneypieces of the hall and saloon and their enriched rib plaster ceilings. Other important rooms were also repanelled. The panelling cleverly incorporates some earlier work. The main stair may have been rebuilt at the same time, although it could be 19th century. The massive chimneypiece of polychrome marble in the dining room probably dates from around 1878. While these modernisations aimed to keep the public rooms in Jacobean style, the private bedchambers were modernised to more personal taste. Some rooms have Adam-style chimneypieces with contemporary iron grates (one inscribed "G III R"). In the southern wing, the modernisations date from around 1930: the front first floor room was lined with 18th-century style panelling and the bathrooms furnished in Art Deco style.

Throughout the house, there are indications that much of the early structure survives intact behind later work. For instance, the south wing includes several stone Tudor arch doorways, and there are two more in the cellars. There is also a large round-headed stone arch that originally connected the central passage from the hall to the southern crosswing. The alcoves alongside the ground and first floor fireplaces at the rear of the south wing were probably garderobe alcoves. A nearby stair from the first floor to the attics rises around a closed well that includes a curious cupboard. This stair has square newel posts with acorn-shaped finials, a moulded handrail, and turned oak balusters. A grille of similar balusters covers the foot of the staircase. Directly below at ground floor level, a framed partition includes the remains of an oak doorframe—ovolo-moulded with scroll stops—and above (in the attic) a chamfered and scroll-stopped doorframe. In the saloon, fragments of high quality original ornamental plasterwork remain over the canted embrasures of both windows.

The Roof

The roof appears to be original throughout and is carried on A-frame tie-beam trusses with pegged mortise-and-tenoned collars. The three-bay cross roof over the hall/saloon is taller and of larger scantling than the other roof structures.

The house at Somerhill is impressively situated in a mature, natural park on a hill with extensive views. Beyond its setting, it is highly important in terms of the evolution of English domestic architecture.

The Service Courtyard

Plan and Development

Three ranges enclose a courtyard adjoining the northern side of the main house. Around 1879, they were refurbished for use as servant accommodation and offices. This involved much internal reorganisation, and most evidence for their former layout is now hidden. The ranges are not contemporary. The north range appears to be the oldest and was probably built around 1611–13 with the main house. It now comprises two two-room plan cottages, one on either side of a central through passage. Since there are two original staircases here, the arrangement was likely always similar. The stacks in this range are probably secondary. A one-room plan extension projects northwards towards the west end and is heated by a stack backing onto the range. The outer (northern) side was formerly an open arcade of timber posts. The posts are now boxed in, and their date is uncertain.

The east range has a wide passageway through it. It has an axial stack towards the north end that might have served a kitchen-size fireplace. There was a gap between this stack and the south range that is now filled in. There is very little dating evidence for any phase of this range. Around 1879, the ground floor rooms were converted to offices and stores while the first floor became a gallery (with small rooms off it) connecting the main house to the new guest apartments. The west range was also altered around 1879 and now contains two two-room plan cottages, one on either side of a through passage. All the ranges have one storey with attic rooms in the roofspace, and the north range (which is terraced into the hillslope) has a half basement that opens onto the lower ground level behind.

Exterior

Although the ranges date from at least two building phases, they now share a consistent style. The doorways have Tudor arch heads, and the windows are stone and of one or two lights (mostly 19th-century replacements). The attics have tall gable dormer windows. The outer (west) face of the west range has an irregular four-window front with two doorways, the right one leading to the passage. Into the courtyard, this range has a three-window front. The north range courtyard side has a symmetrical four-window front including windows to the half basement. There are three doorways: the centre one to the passage. The outer doorways formerly led to each of the stairs, which were lit above by small slit windows. The east range has a three-window front and two doorways, the right one leading to the passage. Throughout these buildings, the gables have ball finials and the brick chimneyshafts are visually important. The older masonry of the north range is distinguished by having a chamfered plinth that runs through behind the other ranges.

Interior

The interior is largely the result of 19th-century alterations, but where floor beams are exposed, they appear to be 17th century. Apart from a large Tudor arch-headed niche in the east wing (possibly a blocked kitchen-size fireplace), no other early features are exposed in the east and west wings, and their roofspaces are inaccessible. In the north wing, there are two large winder stairs to the attics. One of the newel posts still has a shaped finial. Both stairs have been demolished at basement level. What little could be seen of the north range roof suggested it is carried on 17th-century A-frame tie-beam trusses with butt purlins.

The Stable Block

Plan

North of the service courtyard is another courtyard enclosed by stables, garage/coach houses, cottages, servant accommodation, and at the east end, suites of high-status guest apartments. These are single-phase buildings dated 1879. There is a gateway through the west end. To the right (south) is a pair of small two-room plan cottages with a tall clock tower at the end. The rest of this (the south) side of the courtyard is enclosed by the north range of the service courtyard. The north side of this stable yard has stables with segregated servant accommodation above. The rest of this range contains garages (former coach houses) that continue in the return across the back (east) range. There are suites of good rooms over the garages and boiler rooms below the stables.

Exterior

These 19th-century buildings are constructed in the same style as the main house. The courtyard is dominated by a tall clock tower of five stages with an embattled parapet, and above it is a louvred bellcote with a spire and wrought iron weathervane. Alongside are the cottages with a two-window front and two doorways into the courtyard. The attic windows are gabled dormers. The main roof is gable-ended with shaped kneelers and coping. The shoulders and apexes have ball finials. There is a tall wall across the west end of the courtyard. The centre breaks forward and contains a tall and wide Tudor arch. The wall is gabled above with ball finials.

The courtyard side of the stables has a symmetrical four-window front with three gables. The two stable doorways have tall overlights with pointed arch heads above. In the centre, there is a drinking trough set in a Tudor arch-headed niche and enclosed by a low wall. Directly above, the centre gable contains a hayloft loading hatch with a shoulder-arched doorway. At the right (east) end, a stair block in the same style breaks forward. The doorway has a shoulder-headed arch. The rest of the north range and the east range have various garage doors onto the courtyard and three-window fronts above. The outer sides continue in the same style and include some large canted bay windows with crenellated parapets in the same style as the main house.

Interior

The stables have good quality cast iron stalls. All these ranges include a great deal of original joinery and other detail. In the south-east corner there is a grand Jacobean-style staircase. Its square section newel posts include panels of carved foliage and have ornate poppyhead finials; it has a closed string, fluted vase balusters, and a moulded ramped handrail. Two large rooms (one under the garage section of the north range and the other off the first half landing) have Jacobean-style panelling, timber chimneypieces, and moulded plaster ceilings. The rooms over the garages are well-finished suites of bedchambers but are not in Jacobean style. These rooms are now flats but were probably built for accommodating parties of guests, with the lower rooms used for entertainment.