Shute House

Shute House is a large country house situated within a landscaped park, and now divided into flats. It was built between 1787 and 1790 for Sir John Pole, who had previously purchased Old Shute House (Shute Barton).

The house is constructed of stucco with a slate hipped roof, featuring a parapet with rusticated quoins and stringcourses. The north entrance front has three storeys and a basement, arranged over five bays. It has sash windows with glazing bars. A central, round-arched stone portico, supported by pilasters and topped with a pediment, provides access.

Low quadrant walls flank the front, screening service wings, and connect to two-storey, four-bay pavilions. These pavilions also feature rusticated quoins, parapets, and hipped roofs.

The south garden front has a three-bay central section flanked by bays of one bay each, and then further bays of three on either side. The central section features full-height semi-circular bays with sash windows, some retaining their original glazing bars. A central flight of steps with a cast iron balustrade leads to the entrance. First-floor windows are fitted with iron balconettes. Recessed on either side, the rear walls of the service wings display blind arcading.

The interior includes rooms in the Adam style, with moulded plaster ceilings, marble chimneypieces, and a staircase with a wrought iron balustrade. A private theatre, dating to circa 1900, is located in the north-east wing, where the moulded plaster ceiling and proscenium arch have been preserved. The interior has not been inspected.