Shotover Park

FOREST HILL WITH SHOTOVER SHOTOVER SP50NE 5/79 Shotover Park 18/07/63

GV I

Country house. c.1715-20 for James Tyrrell Snr. and General James Tyrrell, possibly by William Townesend of Oxford; extended 1855 by Joshua Sims. Colourwashed limestone ashlar; Westmorland- and Welsh-slate roofs with stone stacks. Double-depth plan, extended. 2 storeys plus attics and basement. 7-window C18 front, incorporated in present 15-window front, breaks forward in the centre 3 bays and has rusticated quoin strips and a heavy entablature, above which the bays of the attic storey are marked by pilaster strips; windows at ground and first floors have moulded architraves, floating cornices and sills supported on consoles. The Ionic pedimented porch is probably mid C19 and the arched doorway and flanking arched windows may also be alterations. Flanking 4-bay C19 wings are of one storey plus attics with similar details. Roofs are hipped and partly concealed behind parapets. Rear is without the central break and stands on a rusticated arcaded basement forming an open loggia beneath the main block. Arcades of side wings, which are set well back, are original and were later infilled and extended upwards. Loggia has a plaster ribbed vault with foliage and trophy roundels and spandrels elaborately ornamented with fruit, flowers and palm fronds; the central 3 bays have a higher segmental vault and are recessed further into the basement, framing 2 tiers of openings. The date 1718 is noted as appearing on rainwater heads. Interior: Hall has fluted pilasters below an entablature in which rosettes alternate with boars heads on the metopes of the triglyph frieze; the fireplace has flanking consoles supporting a large broken pediment framing a shell, above which are heavy plaster festoons of oak leaves; the rear section of the room, at high level, is marked by a pair of columns flanking steps. Stair hall, to right, has a cantilevered open-well stair with a cast-iron balustrade and has plaster trophies below the cornice. At the rear, the central saloon has oak panelling with carved festoons of fruit and flowers above a marble fireplace comprising a fluted frieze on large reeded consoles, designed by William Kent. Further drawing room has Adam-style decoration. The first floor has several rooms with fielded panelling and the central hall is also panelled, with arched doorways to the rooms and a central light well with cast-iron balustrade. (C. Hussey, Country Life, Vol.LIX, pp.240-6; Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp.763-5).

Listing NGR: SP5841506714