Chewton Place

Chewton Place is a detached house, now operating as a conference centre, built around 1762 and significantly altered over the centuries. It was extended around 1786, with further alterations in the early 19th century and extensive remodelling between 1860 and 1870. Subsequent restoration work occurred in 1968 following flood damage, accompanied by further extensions in 1987-8. The house is constructed of colourwashed stucco with limestone ashlar dressings, featuring gabled slate roofs.

The building follows a double-depth plan with a central stair hall and reception rooms on either side, supplemented by late 20th-century extensions to the north-east and south-east corners. The main south front presents a nine-window range, divided into a recessed three-bay central section flanked by three-bay and two-bay wings. A projecting late 19th-century loggia extends to the left, continuing around the west front and incorporating circular columns with foliated capitals and a plain entablature with a bracketed cornice. Decorative roundels depicting foliage and wolves' heads are positioned above the capitals. This loggia develops from a late 19th-century extension that serves as a porch, featuring a part-glazed door with a semicircular fanlight, as well as sash windows with glazing bars to upper sections. A canted bay is centrally located in part of the extension, containing plate glass sashes. Late 19th-century French windows open onto the loggia, and a 20th-century extension on the south-east corner incorporates two 12-pane sashes and a multi-paned window. The first floor features matching 12-pane sashes. An external stack to the left displays an ashlar shaft and side colonettes, with an armorial stone above the central first-floor window and a round-arched balustrade connecting to two ashlar roof stacks.

The west front is symmetrical, rising to two storeys with a five-window range. It features a recessed central bay and slightly projecting two-bay wings. The loggia extends across the southernmost wing, while the northern wing has a canted bay with plate glass sashes and a bracketed cornice. Plain pedimented gables top the wings, adorned with bracketed cornices. French windows are located below the loggia, and 12-pane sashes are found on the ground floor of the central bay, as well as throughout the first floor.

The interior stairwell exhibits a mid-18th-century bracketed cornice and egg-and-dart frieze, complemented by a late 19th-century staircase with carved balusters. A well-preserved late 19th-century cornice and central rose are featured in a ground floor room to the north-west.

Historically, the house was built as a mill owner’s residence situated across the river from a paper mill. The mill was operational until 1749 when both it and the owner's house were destroyed by fire. Rebuilt by 1762, the mill then produced logwood chips for the dying industry. The house remained in domestic occupation until 1968 when it was purchased by Imperial Tobacco for use as a training centre and was subsequently sold in 1987 to become a conference centre.