Woolbeding House

Woolbeding House is an early Elizabethan house, originally built on the site by William Aylwin. Surviving elements of the original house include two chimney breasts, one at the west end of the south front and one on the north side, some walling of the west range, and a fireplace in the southwest angle. In 1679, the house passed to the Mill family, and the present house was likely built by Sir Richard Mill between 1711 and 1760, taking a quadrangular form with an open courtyard. In 1791, it was sold to Lord Robert Spencer, third son of the third Duke of Marlborough, who occupied it until his death in 1831. Spencer made alterations, roofing over the courtyard, with John White of Marylebone, Surveyor to the Duke of Portland, as his architect. Most interior decoration dates from this period. During Spencer’s ownership, the house became a significant Whig centre. Charles James Fox, to whom Spencer was devoted, was a frequent visitor; the house retains portraits and busts of Fox. Later, in the late 19th century, alterations were made by Lord Lanerton, including the insertion of a main staircase in the centre of what was formerly the courtyard.

The main front of the house faces south and has two storeys and an attic, with seven windows and five hipped dormers topped with ball finials. The building is constructed of coursed Hythe sandstone, with a moulded stone string course and a parapet. It has a hipped slate roof and retains its original glazing bars. A chimney breast is situated east of the westernmost window bay. The west, or entrance, front is half H-shaped, with five windows and five dormers; the three central dormers match those on the south front, while the outer dormers have pediments. A coved eaves cornice runs along the west front. The recessed central section of the ground floor is filled by a portico of four fluted Ionic columns supporting an entablature. Low stone posts are positioned in front of the columns to protect them from damage by carriages.