Boxwell Court

Boxwell Court is a large country house of considerable historical importance, standing in a secluded valley with extensive box woods.

The building originated in the 15th or 16th century and was substantially remodelled and enlarged in 1796, with further mid-19th century alterations and extensive remodelling between 1900 and 1914. It is constructed of random rubble limestone with ashlar dressings and ashlar chimneys, roofed in stone slate. The plan is initially L-shaped with a large additional cross-wing; the building is two storeys with an attic and extensive cellars beneath.

The north front presents an accumulation of features from various periods. A roughly central doorway has an open pediment containing a fanlight and a six-panel fielded door, with a tripartite sash above and a single sash to the right on each floor, though the glazing bars are missing from the sashes. A wing to the right projects forward and is two windows wide across two storeys with sashes largely lacking glazing bars. A parapet with moulded cornice runs over the centre and right projecting wing. The elevation to the left was reconstructed in the mid-19th century with two parapet gables: the larger to the left has single-window fenestration consisting of one-, two- and three-light trefoil-headed casements with hoodmoulds, while the gable to the right also has single-window fenestration but with round-headed lights. Both gables are topped with carved Huntley Boxer dog finials bearing shields. The roof line is irregular with sets of three diagonal shafts rising to two ridge-mounted chimneys.

The west elevation features a central two-storey bow with three curved sashes to each floor and a continuous parapet resulting from the 1796 remodelling. A wing to the right has two single-light ground floor windows and one to the upper floor, all with three-centred arched heads, resulting from early 20th century alterations. The bow is flanked by two parapet-mounted chimneys, each with two diagonal shafts.

The south elevation has projecting wings to the right and left of centre. The right wing is gabled with 19th century two-light mullioned casements and hoodmoulds set in older masonry, with a gable-mounted chimney bearing two diagonal shafts and a ridge-mounted chimney with three diagonal shafts further back along the ridge. The left wing was remodelled in the early 20th century with a small central parapet gable above a three-window façade; the gable has an inset sundial. The ground floor fenestration consists of mullioned and transomed windows with three-centred arched heads and hoodmoulds, and there is a three-centred arched doorway to the right with three arched lights forming a fanlight. The central part of the elevation dates from the early 20th century and has four-window fenestration of two-light mullioned casements with three-centred arched heads, with two attic gables each containing two-light casements.

The east elevation has scattered fenestration of 19th century date in older masonry. A parapet gable at the centre has attic and upper floor five-light casements with round-headed lights and bold square stop hoodmoulds. A further five-light window to the left lacks a hood.

An early 20th century fortified curtain wall with a crenellated entrance featuring machicolated parapets forms a courtyard. To the left, a long projecting service wing's fort wall links with the Church of St. Mary and is surmounted by a bellcote.

Interior features include indications of the earlier house in the east half of the present building, notably a Tudor-arched doorway in a former external wall and two 17th century panelled rooms with pedimented doorcases. One room contains a stone Jacobean fireplace. A late 18th century marble fireplace survives in the room with the bow window. A fine top-lit staircase hall also dates from the late 18th century.

The house has been a possession of the Huntley family since the Reformation. Before that it belonged to the abbey of Gloucester. Eighteenth century gatepiers mark the entrance onto the Bath road.