Hartpury House

Hartpury House is a large country house of early 19th-century origin, substantially enlarged and remodelled in 1896 by Sir Guy Dawber for William Gordon-Canning. The rainwater heads on the right return are dated 1896.

The building is constructed in brick with Flemish bond for the early 19th-century work and English bond for the 1896 additions, with ashlar plinth and dressings throughout, and a slate roof. The plan is large and irregular, comprising a main 4-window, 2-storey and attic block two rooms deep, with a 3-storey wing to the left extending 5 windows in length, a single-storey wing at the front, and a 2-storey wing at the end.

The entrance front features a single-storey porch with rusticated ashlar walls. A double panelled door sits at the head of three stone steps, flanked by low balustrades on each side. Above is a semi-circular fanlight with a cartouche, framed by Doric columns and a projecting cornice. A stone parapet with decorative details and decorative iron railings occupies the centre.

The main front has semi-circular headed windows with stone voussoirs and enlarged keystones on either side, each with double sashes beneath a fanlight. A plain string course runs across the front. First-floor windows are ordinary sashes set within rubbed brick arches. The centre section projects slightly, featuring a 4-pane wide sash with stone architrave sweeping out at its foot, with a shell motif above and consoles supporting a projecting cornice. A pediment crowns this section, pierced by a circular window. The hipped roof is crowned by central stone chimneys with cornice; a flat-headed dormer flanks each side, with a rooflight to the stairs on the left.

On the right facade, set back slightly, is a 4-pane wide, 6-pane high sash window at ground floor, with a similar height window above. The left side projects a single-storey wing with a semi-octagonal bay window containing two 6-pane high sash windows on each side. A stone dentil cornice, plain brick parapet and stone coping, and decorative rainwater heads finish this elevation. A tall stone chimney rises from the top of the arch. Behind this, a 5-window block rises a further two storeys with 4-pane wide sashes; one has been replaced by two small mid-20th-century sashes. The hipped roof covers this section.

Beyond, on the left, a pedimented gable marks a 2-storey wing with wooden dentil eaves, its ground floor hidden by a walled yard. A tripartite sash window occupies the first floor, with a circular opening fitted with louvres in the gable.

The rear elevation has a stone plinth. On the left, it repeats the treatment of the right-hand end of the front; to the right remain elements of the early 19th-century house. A ground-floor lead-covered tent-roofed verandah with wrought-iron supports and tracery stands behind a tripartite sash window to the left, with normal windows to the centre and right, all 5 panes high. Three sash windows occupy the storey above within rubbed brick arches, topped by a stone cornice that is raised and fluted at the centre. A hipped roof carries two flat-headed dormers. A 3-storey wing extends to the right, with 4 sash windows per floor set in rubbed brick arches; a door opens to the ground floor on the left. Beyond this stands a 3-storey canted bay with 4-pane wide sashes—two at ground floor and one each on the storeys above—finished by a stone cornice.

Interior: The porch has curved pendentives to the ceiling, centred with a circle bearing bayleaf moulding. The hall features fielded panelling and 6-panel doors with moulded leaf decoration to the window arch. A bolection-moulded stone fireplace surround (repeated throughout the house for other fireplaces) is flanked by Ionic pilasters, with a panelled decorative wooden overmantel above. Moulded plaster beams support the ceiling. A dogleg stair has turned balusters, square panelled newels, and a heavy moulded handrail; moulding runs along the soffit of the stairs, with heads to a timber screen on the landing above.

To the right is a former library with a window matching the hall, shelves positioned above fielded-panelled doors. Arches over these doorway positions echo the window treatment. A glazed arch with a bust leads to a corridor behind; a pediment crowns the panelled overmantel above the fireplace, with moulded leaf decoration to the ceiling. Dado panelling runs through the room behind the hall, with eared architraves to door surrounds. Octagonal columns flank the fireplace, supporting a projecting cornice with a swept centre.

The drawing room occupies the right-hand end, with dado panelling, shutters to windows, and panelled doors retaining original brass fittings. An inglenook fireplace sits in the bay with moulded plaster decoration above; a segmental ceiling in four bays displays vine and other plants forming borders.

The single-storey wing contains a panelled ante-room and a former billiard room, now used as a dining room. Panelling rises 1.5 metres, with fretwork grilles covering radiators. Moulded leaf decoration adorns the arch over the bay window, and the panelled ceiling features a dentil cornice.

The early 19th-century house was partly rebuilt and greatly enlarged in 1896. A decorative forecourt wall accompanies the house.