Avington House

Avington House is a large country house situated in Itchen Valley, Avington Park. Originally a late 16th-century "H" shaped house built for John Clerk, it was largely rebuilt in the late 17th century when a service courtyard and banqueting hall were added for George Brydges. The front was extended north and south and refronted in the late 18th century for the 3rd Duke of Chandos, and the interior was redecorated in the early 19th century for the Earl Temple, later the 2nd Marquess of Buckingham. In 1848, it was purchased by Sir John Shelley, brother of the poet, who added further service buildings and conservatories.

The house is constructed of brick and flint, with stone dressings, rebuilt mainly in brick, and has slate and lead roofs. The main block is a half “H” shape, two storeys high, with 13 bays, the central five recessed. To the rear, on the left, is a late 17th-century service courtyard, with a 19th-century service building behind it and, to the right, a late 18th-century library wing leading to the conservatories.

The west front has two storeys and 13 bays, with the central bays recessed. A Tuscan portico, dating from around 1680, features in the centre, constructed of wood and plaster, with four columns supporting an entablature, a triglyph frieze, a modillioned cornice, and a pediment. The pediment displays three lead figures, reputedly from Canons (Middlesex). Behind the portico, the bays are rendered, with a central eight-panel double door and a rectangular fanlight with interlacing glazing bars, set within a surround of pilasters and an entablature. The ground floor has 12-pane segmental-headed sash windows, with taller, similarly styled windows above. Projecting wings have brick corner and centre pilasters that rise to the top. The inner faces of the wings feature blind openings, mirrored to the front. These have 12-pane segmental-headed sashes with stone sills, rubbed brick arches and aprons, a brick entablature that runs around the pilasters, a blue brick frieze with red rubbed brick panels, and a balustraded parapet surmounted by urns. The south end has four bays with pediments. The north end is blind and also has a pediment.

Inside, the entrance hall is adorned with screens of columns and contains late 18th-century wall and ceiling paintings. The saloon above has an early 19th-century copy of a Renaissance ceiling with paintings. The late 18th-century staircase has balusters designed to resemble vertical chains draped with honeysuckle. The library, also from the late 18th century, features a bowed front and Pompeian wall paintings. A drawing room on the first floor of the left wing has mid-19th-century paintings depicting the Earl Temple's ancestors. Plans of the house and proposed alterations from the 18th century are held in the Huntington Library’s Stowe records.