Wick Hall And Attached Walls

RADLEY SU59NW 9/84 Wick Hall and attached walls 09/02/66 (Formerly listed as Wick Hall (old part) and walls of walled garden) GV II* House. c.1720, for Mrs Tomkins: late C19 extensions, by Charles Bell for the Dockar-Drysdales. Coursed limestone rubble with brick quoins and dressings; hipped old tile roof; end stacks of brick to left and stone with gauged brick quoins and cornice to right. Double-depth plan. Early Georgian style. Two storeys and attic; symmetrical 5-window range. C18 two-panelled door with overlight, and very fine plastered shell hood with console-brackets. Gauged brick flat arches and coved cornice over late C19/C20 two-light casements. Similar 5-bay right side wall has original wood-mullioned and transomed cross window above C18 plank door with overlight and tightly-moulded pediment hood: 5-bay left side wall has similar original stair-light window. Extensions to rear of mid 1880's to 1890's by Charles Bell: in "Queen Anne" style, similar to old part of Wick Hall: tall sashes and cross-windows with wrought-iron fittings. Interior: stone-flag floors, panelled doors and shutters. Hall: straight-cut panelling, and dog-leg with landing staircase to rear left which has barley-sugar balusters on closed string, panelled spandrel and dado and ramped handrail. Small panelled room with bolection-moulded overmantle to left. Keyed archway with moulded imposts, entablature and flanking panelled pilaster leads from hall to rear passage with straight-cut panelling and plank door to cellar: fine bolection-moulded panelled room with fireplace to left, and early C18 fireplace with spit racks in kitchen to right. First floor: landing and rear passage have bolection-moulded and straight-cut dado panels. Two panelled rooms to right (originally divided by closet): front room has bolection-moulded architrave and Delft tiles and cast-iron backplate to fireplace. Fine bolection-panelled room to rear left: bolection-moulded fireplace and deeply-moulded cornice in room to rear right. Winder stair to attic has bolection-moulded panels and moulded newel. Rear wing has early C17 Flemish panelling removed from Exeter College Chapel, Oxford: tall panelled dado, 3-bay screen and fireplace are all lavishly carved in Artisan Mannerist style, the latter with musical instruments: another smaller room has early C14 door heads reset in internal porch, and tester and sound board of early C17 pulpit. Subsidiary features: two walls of uncoursed limestone rubble with brick dog-tooth coping run approx. 40m. to left and are linked by low right-angled wall. Map of 1739 in owner possession depicts front of house with cross windows: bought by Dockar-Drysdales in 1850. (Buildings of England: Berkshire, p.197; National Monuments Record - for photographs of early C17 panelling).

Listing NGR: SU5166097974