Faringdon House

GREAT FARINGDON RADCOT ROAD SU 2895

3/5 Faringdon House

10.11.52

GV I

c.1770-85 formal country house built for H J Pye, Poet Laureate. Ashlar and render. Double pile plan. 2 storeys and attic with basement sunk at south front, open at north. Hipped stone tile roof with ashlar end wall stacks, 2 small dormers to south, 3 to north. 5-window range of glazing bar sashes. South front centre breaks forward with pediment, north front is even. Stone moulded cornice and balustrade around. Ball finials at corners on panelled piers. Balustrade broken for dormers and central pediment. Moulded stone architrave surrounds to windows. Rendered wall. To south front: ashlar basement up to ground floor sill course. Rusticated ashlar to centre with 2 round-headed niches with statues flanking central arched door. Plain band across. Doorway with moulded arch and pilaster sides. Projecting later stone porch with Tuscan columns and half-column responds. Roundels in relief in frieze. Centre first floor treated as shallow recessed giant arch with stone impost blocks, arch breaking into pediment above. First floor window in moulded surround with pulvinated frieze and cornice, the surround swept out at base to wide apron. Arched head attic window above. Stone balustrade in front of basement. North front with pediments over centre and outer ground floor windows and wider architrave to centre window. Rusticated ashlar basement floor at ground level with projecting arcade of 5 elliptical rusticated arches supporting terrace and fine right-angle stairs up each side with panelled piers and balustrade. Screen walls flank each front. To south side, quadrant curved with fine ashlar broken-pedimented doorways flanking house, pediments over recessed arch with triple keystone, rusticated piers and plain impost blocks. 5 niches to each rendered quadrant wall. Terminal gateways with ashlar rusticated piers, wide corniced caps and paired ball finials, missing from easternmost pier. North side screen walls: straight, rendered with ashlar details. To each side 3 niches in recessed arches with dentil cornices over. Lengths of plain coped wall between. Central feature has pediment over and those flanking house have ball finials. Damaged east side feature. Between screen walls are low service wings. On west side one storey with wall running north-south with 3 coped gables and stone mullion and transom windows reputedly from previous C16 house. On east side 2-storey C19 service block with small rubble stone early C20 former chapel projecting. 2 traceried windows. Interior: outstanding interior with elegant plan about 2-storey entrance hall with staircase returned from half- landing over entrance in single flight spanning the centre of the hall. Fine plasterwork, fireplaces and woodwork. Country Life: 12 and 19 May 1966.

Listing NGR: SU2879995904