Northwick Park

Northwick Park

Grade I. An important country house of multiple building phases spanning the 17th to 19th centuries.

The main house is built in ashlar with a slate roof and displays three storeys throughout, with sash windows mostly retaining glazing bars. The core is an early 17th-century open courtyard house, originally with its opening facing west. Shaped gables on the east and west fronts remain as the chief evidence of this early layout, though both have been substantially altered over time.

The east (entrance) front was remodelled by Lord Burlington in 1732. It comprises five bays with windows dating entirely from this period. Bays 2 to 4 project forward as two-storey advances from the original 17th-century building line. The first-floor windows in the outer bays are pedimented, while the inner ones are arched with balustraded aprons. A coat of arms occupies the centre. Lord Burlington's original front door survives unaltered but is now obscured by a late 19th-century Roman Doric porch with broken pediment. The attic gables were reduced from five to three and reshaped with curved sides (replacing crow-stepped) at some point between 1788 and 1804.

The south front features two three-storey semi-circular bays, each with three windows and a centre window above a ground floor niche. This section was designed by John Woolfe. The bows were heightened in 1828 (dated on the rainwater-head), and the roofs appear to have been partly reconstructed at that time.

The west front of nine bays displays tall sash windows with eaved architraves in a 2.5.2 arrangement. The central five bays are set slightly forward with quoins, a modillioned cornice, and a pediment crowned by a vase and containing a large coat of arms. A central doorway with open segmental pediment provides access. Tall panelled ashlar stacks rise prominently. This remodelling is possibly by William Talman.

The north front contains a service wing continuing from the west front and terminating in a square block crowned by a clock turret and weathervane. The courtyard front shows some 19th-century alterations.

Interior

The principal rooms include the Hall designed by Lord Burlington, which features a marble floor and an Inigo Jones style ceiling. A fine pedimented Corinthian doorcase, now blocked, originally dominated this space. Mahogany doors are installed throughout. The domed staircase is fitted into the courtyard; the dome dates from 1828, though the staircase itself probably dates to circa 1775 by John Woolfe. It is a circular stair with a wrought iron balustrade. Contemporary rooms on the west and south fronts retain their original fittings and decorations. Two important fireplaces by P. M. Van Gelder date from 1788.

The Picture Gallery

In 1832 Richard Hulls added a Picture Gallery at right angles to the east front. The structure is two storeys high, built on a rusticated plinth across five bays. On the ground floor, bays 1, 3 and 5 are arched niches containing Coade stone vases by William Croggan. A first-floor cill band, cornice, and balustraded parapet with a central raised sculptural panel complete the external design. A rusticated Coade stone gate pier stands on the north-east corner facing the stable yard.

The interior contains a top-lit picture gallery originally built to display the celebrated Spencer Churchill collection, which was dispersed through sales in 1859 and 1965. An important relief panel by John Deal is located within (interior not examined at the time of upgrading in 1981).