Hillersdon House

Hillersdon House

Substantial country house built in 1848 for W.C. Grant to designs by Samuel Beazley. The building is a Classical revival structure of red brick with Portland stone dressing, roofed with slate under a hipped roof concealed behind a parapet with dentilled cornice.

The house is arranged on a shallow H plan with rooms on both floors organised around a two-storey central hall. The main and nursery staircases lead off at the rear, occupying the western angle of the building. Axial chimney stacks rise through the building, with additional stacks positioned behind the parapet to the flanking bays of all elevations except the south-east front, although the east stack is now missing. The structure is two storeys high with brick chimney shafts.

The north-east entrance front comprises five bays. The middle three bays project forward under a pediment containing an achievement of arms. Rusticated quoins frame the elevation, with a wide moulded plat band running across. A central porte-cochere features Tuscan columns on plinths, with the plat band brought forward to form a balustrade. Windows are twelve-pane hornless sashes treated variously: the centre first-floor window has a pediment and lugged architrave, flanked by windows with moulded architraves and keystones. Side bay windows feature floating cornices and bracketed sills. The entrance itself comprises double panelled doors with a single-light window to either side.

The south-east elevation is five bays, with wings of one bay each and the central three bays set behind a loggia with Tuscan columns. The plat band is treated as a balustrade and brought out over canted bays (one:one:one) to each wing. An achievement breaks through the parapet, and window treatment follows the pattern of the north-east front.

The south-west elevation is identical to the north-east front but without the porte-cochere, and with three windows under floating cornices in place of the entrance door.

The north-west service elevation features wings with depressed superordinate arches, several blocked windows, and prominent stacks. This elevation overlooks a small courtyard, once entered between two gate houses each of two storeys with cornice; one survives under temporary roofing. Single-storey ranges form the other two sides of the courtyard and have been adapted for garage use. A revetment wall to the patio, of brick with panels and a dentilled cornice under stone coping, is included in this listing.

The interior begins with an entrance room featuring a mosaic tiled floor decorated with Greek key motifs, leading into the through-hall. This hall is divided into four units—the rear north-west unit being temporarily partitioned off—alternating between square and polygonal in plan. Each unit is separated by segmentally-headed arches with panelled pilasters and soffits. Round-headed niches and panelled doors with pediments, lugged architraves and panelled reveals articulate the space. Light enters the hall from the landing through one square and two oval openings in the floors, surrounded above by cast-iron twisted balusters; these openings are now glazed.

The cantilever well stairs feature cast-iron twisted balusters. The stairwell hall is temporarily partitioned from the main hall. Above the first flight of stairs, occupying the upper part of the north-west wall, is an arcade of three large round-headed arches, formerly open; the much simpler nursery stairs are positioned behind this wall.

The south-west ground-floor suite of rooms, excluding the library, is divided by concertina doors which, when opened, allow almost the entire length of the suite to function as a banqueting hall. All rooms feature panelled internal shutters, fireplaces, cornices and doorway architraves of varying elaboration. Bedrooms are treated much more modestly. Kitchens occupy the east angle of the house.

Samuel Beazley is noted primarily as a theatre architect; Hillersdon is one of his few country house designs. The building is restrained and dignified externally, with a highly imaginative use of internal space, and is especially interesting as a late Classical survival design.