The Mansion With Attached Service Ranges (Now Nugent House, Cobham House And Grafton House)

The Mansion with attached service ranges, now comprising Nugent House, Cobham House and Grafton House at Stowe

This is a Grade I listed building of major architectural importance, originally built in 1680 by William Cleare for Sir Richard Temple. The house was greatly altered and enlarged in stages until 1779, reflecting the work of successive owners and designers. Vanbrugh undertook work in the 1720s for Viscount Cobham, James Gibbs worked on alterations in the 1740s for Lord Cobham, and further contributions came from Leoni and William Kent. The south front was redesigned in 1771 by Thomas Pitt (Lord Camelford) based on a design by Robert Adam, executed for the Earl Temple.

The north front is faced in stucco with stone portico and dressings. The roof is concealed by a balustraded parapet. The building rises three storeys with a basement, with a cornice at the second floor level. The front comprises eleven bays, with the two end bays projecting. Sash windows have architraves only to the end bays. A central portico with steps is flanked by stone lions. The portico features Ionic pilasters and four Ionic columns, the design attributed to either Vanbrugh or Leoni. Curved Ionic colonnades were added in 1771–2 by William Ride, possibly to designs by Pitt or Lord Temple. Screen walls on each side feature Ionic order. Around 1780, work by Valdre included pierced screen walls with a pair of tall pedimented gateways leading to the service yards; these gateways date from around 1744 and were designed by Kent, originally being freestanding structures.

The south front is constructed in ashlar, presenting a basement and one lofty principal storey with balustraded parapets. A central block features a five-bay Corinthian portico with steps, flanked by triple windows set beneath semi-circular tympana. Giant Corinthian pilasters frame each side. Lower colonnaded links with arcading at basement level connect the central block to two large pavilions, each featuring giant Corinthian pilasters and three bays of triple windows beneath semi-circular tympana. At each end, a two-storey arcaded wing of five bays with blind arcading connects to the service wings, now used as boarding houses, dating to the early 18th century and attributed to Vanbrugh.

The service ranges are faced in stucco with ironstone dressings and slate roofs, with eaves cornices extending over two storeys and first floor bands. Nugent House, positioned at the west end, comprises a central five-bay block with the central bay projecting and pedimented on both sides. The east elevation displays five arches. Two single-storey bays link this to adjacent structures on each side. The northern block is pedimented at each end and topped with a wooden cupola at the east end of the roof. Cobham House, at the east end of the Mansion, follows a similar design. Grafton House, attached at the eastern end, is of similar character but includes a basement storey faced in ironstone, a central pedimented bay with an arch, and a modern Mansard roof.

The interior contains significant decoration from various periods. The north entrance hall features decorative work executed before around 1732 by Kent. An oval saloon is lined with Doric columns and has a Pantheon-style ceiling dating from around 1780, executed by Valdre and probably based on a design by G F Blondel. The Music Room was painted by Valdre with Pompeian-style decoration. The Library, located in the eastern link, extends seven bays and is furnished with an ornamental ceiling. The Dining Hall, in the western link, features a ceiling dating from around 1750. Two easterly state rooms retain late 18th-century ornamental ceilings.

In the basement, a Gothic library, vestibule and staircase were constructed in 1805–06 by John Soane. Remains of an early 19th-century Egyptian-style entrance hall survive, featuring two carved columns and a frieze. The Garter Room on the first floor has a ceiling by Borra dating from around 1760, which was renewed and altered in the 1930s. The Chapel on the upper part of the building preserves a coffered ceiling.