Midford Castle With Former Offices And Coach Houses

ST 76 SE SOUTH STOKE MIDFORD ROAD (north side)

7/186 Midford Castle with former Offices and Coach-houses 1.2.56 I G.V.

Small country house standing on and surrounded by its offices and coach-houses; the latter are now part of the house. Circa 1775 for Henry Disney Roebuck, after designs by John Carter; porch added c. 1810 for Conolly family. The house has a sub triangular or trefoil plan formed by 3 semi-circular towers conjoined; the basement is surrounded on the north, east and west sides by the offices and coach- houses which rise up to create a terraced platform which is at ground floor level on the west side; everything is in a Gothick style. The house is 3 storeys with a basement, and embattled parapets. 3 windows to the towers with a single bay to the linking sections: Gothick glazing bar sash windows with pointed heads and under ogee hoodmoulds with finials; square headed glazing bar sashes to first floor, with quatrefoil decorated blind boxes, and square hoodmoulds over; the east (entrance) elevation has tripartite windows on the first floor. The towers continue up to form hollow semi-circular screen walls which are pierced by quatrefoils under arched hoodmoulds on corbels. Projecting porch to east side (added c.1810) flanked by embattled, octagonal turrets with blind cross-loop windows; central gothic style panelled doors with quatrefoils and a highly decorative traceried overlight, all set in a shallow arch with a moulded hood on thin columns. C20 entrance wing on north side. The walls of the basement/ offices are approximately 20 feet high and are constructed of coursed squared rubble with freestone dressings;with ashlar parapets pierced with quatrefoils: pointed doorways and glazing bar sash windows set in recessed arched surrounds. Interior. East doorway with panelled and glazed Gothick style doors under an overlight and in ogee and roll moulded surround. The central room on each floor is lozenge shaped and the tower rooms have semi-circular ends. All the rooms retain panelled doors in moulded architraves, arched window architraves and fine free style plasterwork ceilings with enriched cornices. The plasterwork ceilings are variations on a theme of sprays of bay and rose sparsely intertwined around long branches, forming circular, lobed and star-shaped patterns; the first floor north room has free flying naturalistic birds in the open spaces. Library: 2 recessed niches with moulded architraves, Corinthian capitals and pointed heads. Dining Room: neo-classical fireplace in enriched surround with tablet of musical instruments in centre of frieze; surmounted by open pediment with urn and set in a stucco archway with scroll work enrichment; matching sideboard arch on other side of door. Dog-leg stair with mahogany handrail on fluted newel columns. (Country Life, 3.III.1944., 1O.III.1944.).

Listing NGR: ST7595561331