Exbury House

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 15/07/2020

SU 40 SW 12/6

EXBURY AND LEPE EXBURY Exbury House

(Formerly listed as Exbury House, EXBURY ESTATE)

8.10.59

GV II*

HISTORY Records of a manor at Exbury date from the C13. Throughout the C15 it was held by the Berkeley family, descending to the Comptons of Compton Wynates in Warwickshire (VCH 1908) who owned it until 1718 and from whom it passed to William Mitford. On the death of his grandson, another William Mitford, in 1827, Exbury passed to Henry Reveley Mitford (ibid). He sold it in the early 1880s to Major John Forster, from whose son the prominent Jewish financier Lionel de Rothschild purchased it in 1919. He set about rebuilding the house and creating the present gardens, until the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45) when Exbury House was requisitioned by the Royal Navy.

DETAILS Medium-sized country house. C18 core remodelled and refaced c1927. Ashlar stone encasing of brick structure, slate and lead roofs behind parapet. Unusual plan best described as rectangular which has had diagonal slice cut across one corner, leaving only one bay of one side and one end and creating the entrance front; three storey, 1:3:1:3:1 garden front, five bay entrance front.

Garden front has flight of five stone steps in front of all but end bays, bowed in centre. Following this Ionic colonnade with heavy entablature. Under this French windows in centre and beside to left hand, twelve-pane windows with low-cills in other bays. End bays have roundheaded windows of two tall lights and radiating fanlight, and rustication to ground floor; twelve-pane sashes in raised architraves on other floors. Those in centre have flanking thin sashes. That on first floor having segmental pediment over, while end bays have triangular pediment and others have plain hoods. Heavy bracketed cornice and pediment over centre bay. Each side of centre balustraded lengths in the parapet. Stone stacks either side of centre and inside of end bays.

Highly original interior plan of huge circular central top-lit stone hall. Arched openings on ground floor, promenade around it on first floor appearing behind two Ionic columns and pilasters. Over stone dome with glazed top. Interior has some C19 French rooms with 'over the top' panelling, some C18 marble fireplaces and a room with C17 four-centred arch stone fireplace.

Listing NGR: SZ4354999985