Donhead Hall With Attached Walls And Terraces

This is an early 18th-century country house with attached walls and terraces. Constructed of limestone ashlar with a Welsh slate hipped roof and rendered stacks, it sits on an elevated position overlooking a deer park. The house was owned by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) in the early 18th century and later by the Wyndham family in the 19th century.

The main east front has two storeys and an attic over a basement and features seven windows. The central three bays project with quadrants, and contain a French window set within a moulded architrave, topped with a pediment on consoles. Curved bays on either side incorporate 12-pane sashes within Gibbs surrounds; the two flanking bays feature a plate glass fixed window to the left and two 12-pane sashes to the right, all set in Gibbs surrounds. The basement is treated with banded rustication and contains small nine-pane sashes with keystones. The first floor has three 2-light casements to the centre, with two plate glass sashes on either side, all within Gibbs surrounds. Corner pilasters display block rustication, leading to a plain frieze and eaves cornice. A raised attic is centrally located, with volutes to the pediment and a central oculus.

The left return showcases five French windows with louvred shutters leading onto a terrace with iron railings. The first floor has five nine-pane sashes in Gibbs surrounds, complemented by three pedimented dormers each containing a 2-light casement. The right return incorporates a two-storey, three-bay projecting entrance hall, likely dating to the early 19th century. A porch boasts a large round-arched doorway with double-panelled doors and fanlight, crowned with a glazed hipped roof adorned with griffins on the cornice. Above are three nine-pane sashes with keystones, flanked by plain pilasters supporting a pediment with an oculus. The main range features a nine-pane sash either side to the first floor and a six-panelled door to the right, with attic dormers above.

The rear elevation reveals a 2-light leaded casement at basement level, 12-pane sashes to the ground floor, and nine-pane sashes to the first floor.

The interior, largely inaccessible during an inspection in November 1985, contains a central staircase with three turned balusters per tread, a ramped and wreathed handrail, carved tread ends, and a top-lit plain glazed panel. Good quality six-panelled doors are set within moulded architraves. Egg and dart and dentilled ceiling cornices are also present. The main reception rooms exhibit fine raised and fielded panelling and pilasters. A central room on the east front has double apsidal ends and a rococo plaster ceiling, along with 18th-century fireplaces.

To the left of the front is a good stone wall with pitched coping and an arched gateway with 19th-century spearhead gates and a pier featuring a griffin. Attached to the rear right is a 19th-century raised terrace and steps with semi-circular arches, iron balusters, and chain links.