Crooksbury House, Fig Tree Court And West Wing

Crooksbury House, along with Fig Tree Court and the West Wing, is a country house dating to 1890, with subsequent alterations and additions in 1898-9 and 1914 by Sir Edwin Lutyens for W. A. Chapman, representing his first country house commission. The construction combines red and brown brick at ground level with diagonal brick infilling to a timber frame above on the right-hand side, and tile hanging on the left. The rear elevation was originally in a Queen Anne style and is now roughcast in a vernacular style. The building is roofed with plain tiles, some hipped and half-hipped with end gablets. It is arranged as an L-shaped range forming a courtyard, with a parallel range extending to the rear left. One wing is raised upon a terrace, with the ground sloping away on the right return front.

The right-hand wing features a two-storey elevation with a large, offset, star-shaped end stack topped with corbelling. Additional star-shaped stacks are present at the junction of the wings, and a corbelled stack stands at the rear of the left-hand range. The fenestration is irregular, utilizing wood-framed, leaded casements. The right-hand wing exhibits two first-floor windows, one four-light with moulded sills, and a single four-light window to the ground floor, along with a smaller square window set within a brick arch moulding at the base of the end stack.

The left-hand range displays two first-floor windows – a five-light window beneath a half-hipped roof on the left and a four-light window on the right. Tile hanging sweeps out over three ground-floor windows, two of which are three-light, including one within a single-storey hipped extension to the left. A large, gabled bay is situated within the re-entrant angle of the wings, displaying moulded bargeboards and a pendant finial. An oriel window with splayed sides, supported by two brackets, is situated above a small two-light window on the first floor. A studded and ribbed door is set within a porch recess, accessed by a flight of brick steps with a porch wall supporting turned wooden balusters.

The rear (Fig Tree Court) elevation presents two storeys on a plinth, with a hipped roof and projecting end wings. A large stack is positioned to the right of centre, complemented by diagonal, detached stacks at the left end. Wood-framed casement fenestration is arranged in continuous strips, incorporating brick mullions and transomes on the end square bays and within the ground-floor recess of the centre range. A panelled door is positioned to the left of the centre.

The garden front (right-hand return front) comprises a double-gabled projecting range with a recessed tile-hung centre and a larger projecting range to the right. The roofline is highly irregular, with varied chimneys and windows, and includes attached and projecting garden walls.

Internally, the house features wood panelling and ceiling frames, as well as a plaster panel ceiling on the ground floor. A vaulted corridor links the two halves, punctuated by round windows. The garden, designed by Jekyll in 1892 and 1902, is recognized as historically significant and includes garden pergolas and walls.