Ellenborough Park Hotel

Ellenborough Park Hotel

This former country house on the west side of the A46 near Southam began as a substantial medieval residence and evolved over three centuries into one of the largest 16th-century houses remaining in Gloucestershire.

The earliest work dates to around 1500, begun by Thomas Goodman (whose initials appear in the spandrels of the porch doorway) and completed by Sir John Huddleston Junior, who died in 1547. The house may have been extended to the south in the late 17th century. Between 1833 and 1871, Lord Ellenborough, former Governor General of India, undertook major extensions and alterations in Gothic and neo-Norman styles.

The building's complex plan incorporates a hall forming the western side of the house, a solar cross wing at right angles to the south, late 17th-century ranges further south, a 16th-century rectangular courtyard to the north-west of the hall range, and 19th-century extensions to the north and east. The structure rises to one and a half to two storeys, constructed of random squared and dressed limestone for the early ranges, with 19th-century extensions and some refacing in ashlar. The roof is stone slate with ashlar stacks.

The west front presents the Great Hall at centre, featuring two tall four-light stone-mullioned casements with king mullions, diamond leaded panes, heraldic glass and continuous hoods. A projecting gabled two-storey porch to the left contains a 19th-century two-light stone-mullioned casement blocking the former doorway, with a three-light casement above. A 19th-century single-storey porch with pointed-arched entrance stands further left, topped by a four-light stone-mullioned casement with king mullion. All casements on the west side of the hall feature hollow-chamfered mullions and Tudor-arched heads. Three 19th-century two-light roof dormers with finials crown the hall. The solar, now called the Great Parlour, projects forward with a two-storey late Perpendicular bay window containing Tudor glass medallions and a battlemented parapet. A 19th-century two-storey turret rises to the right. The south wing, partly encased in 19th-century work, projects forward with a four-light oriel window to its north-facing gable and a three-light stone-mullioned casement and six-light oriel to its west-facing gable. A 19th-century battlemented wall runs north of the Great Hall, linking to a four-stage Gothic tower with battlemented parapet and Tudor-arched entrance. An encased gable projects forward to the left, with a 19th-century range at right angles to the north connecting to a three-stage Gothic tower with battlemented parapet.

The south-facing elevation retains some original openings including two stone-mullioned oriel windows, one with a battlemented parapet. The east-facing elevation shows early and 19th-century stone-mullioned casements, with a striking four-stage neo-Norman keep-like tower projecting forward off-centre left. This tower features two, four and seven-light windows with neo-Norman circular jamb shafts and a single large blind round-headed arch on the east side rising to the height of the fourth stage, topped with the monogram 'E.E.' for Edward Ellenborough. The parapet displays a Lombard frieze. The north-facing elevation contains a small neo-Norman one-and-a-half-storey room projecting forward at centre, a gable with garage doors to ground floor and a Decorated window with replaced mullion above, a neo-Norman single-light window with gablet to the return, and a three-stage Gothic tower with battlemented parapet at the north-west corner.

The interior preserves exceptional 16th and 17th-century detail. The hall was formerly entered via a moulded four-centred arched doorway on the east side bearing Thomas Goodman's initials in the spandrels. Linenfold panelling and floor tiles from Hailes Abbey conceal the original doorway. Early linenfold panelling with foliate decoration and a unicorn's head crest remains at the south end of the hall, though much surviving panelling appears to be 19th-century in date. The east wall displays a Tudor-arched stone fireplace with columns, enriched spandrels and a brattished mantelpiece, with a partially blocked opening probably representing an earlier fireplace to the right. Several blocked openings above once opened onto the first floor. A gallery, likely 19th-century, stands at the north end, with a Tudor-arched stone fireplace at the same level. The ceiling features intersecting beams with roll mouldings, possibly an Elizabethan insertion, with part of a braced collar-beam roof surviving above.

The adjoining dining rooms, formerly the parlour range, comprise two rooms with 17th-century panelling decorated with dragon friezes. The smaller room contains a stone Tudor-arched fireplace flanked by engaged octagonal columns with enriched spandrels. A carved wooden overmantel displays a cornice with guilloche and scrollwork, a triple-panelled frieze bearing a heraldic emblem and the inscription 'TRIA JUNCTA IN UNO' flanked by mannerist terms, with carved sea beasts below. A stone Tudor-arched fireplace in the adjoining Great Parlour features mannerist terms flanking it, with a richly carved overmantel showing the arms of de la Bere impaling Huddleston, presumably dating from the marriage of Eleanor Huddleston to Kenard de la Bere around 1554. The mannerist terms and blind arches either side enhance this composition. The bay window contains Tudor glass medallions including the arms and badges of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, the Tudor rose and the pomegranate. An adjacent room lined with 17th-century panelling features a frieze decorated with angels and a small Tudor-arched stone fireplace flanked by fluted Ionic pilasters. The overmantel contains a single large round-headed panel bearing the de la Bere arms and helmet in high relief with a crest of eleven ostrich feathers.

An early 18th-century open well staircase features turned balusters and a ramped handrail, with newels formed of groups of four balusters and a panelled dado. The original courtyard shown in the Kip engraving is now filled with later building, though the close-studded timber-framing of the east range remains visible on its west face with infill removed.