Exbury House

Exbury House is a medium-sized country house with an 18th-century core that was extensively remodelled and refaced around 1927. The house’s history dates back to the 13th century and was held by various families including the Berkeleys and Comptons before passing to the Mitford family and later to Major John Forster. In 1919, it was purchased by Lionel de Rothschild, who initiated a significant rebuilding project and created the surrounding gardens, work interrupted by the Second World War when the house was requisitioned by the Royal Navy.

The building is constructed with an ashlar stone facing over a brick structure, with slate and lead roofs concealed behind a parapet. The plan is unusual – rectangular with a diagonal slice across one corner, resulting in a three-story, 1:3:1:3:1 bay arrangement on the garden front and a five-bay arrangement on the entrance front. The garden front features a flight of five stone steps leading up to the central bays, followed by an Ionic colonnade with a heavy entablature. French windows are located in the centre and to the left, with twelve-pane windows with low-cills in the remaining bays. Round-headed windows with radiating fanlights are prominent in the end bays, accompanied by rustication on the ground floor; twelve-pane sashes are set in raised architraves on the upper floors, with varying pediments and hoods above them. A heavy bracketed cornice and pediment adorn the central bay, and balustraded sections are present along the parapet's sides. Stone stacks are located either side of the centre of the house and within the end bays.

The interior showcases a highly original design, notably a huge, circular, top-lit stone hall. Arched openings are present on the ground floor, with a promenade running around it on the first floor, partially visible behind two Ionic columns and pilasters. The hall features a stone dome with a glazed top. Several rooms contain 19th-century French panelling, along with original 18th-century marble fireplaces and a room featuring a 17th-century four-centred arch stone fireplace.