Wotton House, With Walls To Pavilions

WOTTON HOUSE, WITH WALLS TO PAVILIONS

Country house built 1704–14, possibly by William Winde, for Richard Grenville. The house was severely damaged by fire in 1820 and subsequently much rebuilt and altered by Sir John Soane, with later interventions that have been substantially reversed.

EXTERIOR

The house is built of red brick with an ashlar basement, a moulded first floor band course, and an attic entablature; the cornice was repaired with fibreglass around 1960. Giant ashlar Corinthian pilasters flank the corners and the central projection on the east front. The west front features a central projection of three bays with rusticated stone facing and four pilasters. A low brick parapet above the cornice is topped with finely carved stone corner urns, attributed to Grinling Gibbons, and stone statues flanking the projections. The roof is copper, with a row of nine rectangular brick chimneys.

The building has two storeys, a basement, and an attic. The east front comprises eleven bays, the west front nine bays, and the north and south fronts four bays each. Sash windows with thin glazing bars are set in stone architrave surrounds. The basement has windows with segmental heads and keyblocks. Short three-light attic casements are set in the frieze of the entablature. Double half-glazed doors at the centres of the east and west fronts have stone doorcases with bolection architraves and segmental modillion pediments; the east doorcase sits on scroll brackets. The west doorcase is dated 1704 and features Corinthian quarter columns with carved ciphers in the frieze and tympanum.

At the south end, the house has a terrace with a stone arcaded retaining wall and panelled ashlar parapet. A shell niche occupies the centre, with a double flight of stone steps with wrought iron balustrade leading down to a walled garden. To the left of the steps, the arcade contains windows of an orangery with moulded cast iron girders on columns, two of which are fluted with scrolled capitals. Low ashlar walls with oval windows connect the east front of the house to the pavilions.

INTERIOR

The saloon contains two early 18th-century-style doorcases by A.S.G. Butler (1929), with segmental modillion pediments on Corinthian pilasters, and two late 18th-century marble chimneypieces with carved friezes, the left one also featuring delicate Ionic pilasters. Flanking rooms contain further late 18th-century marble chimneypieces; the Dining Room's includes inlaid coloured marble details. Soane's interior decoration work has been revealed beneath Butler's 1929 decoration. Most skirting boards, dados, doors, doorcases, window surrounds, and shutters feature flush triple-reeded mouldings. The Dining Room and sitting room on the ground floor of the west front have fine plaster cornices with honeysuckle, bead, and Greek fret motifs. Upper room cornices feature gilt beading or staff mouldings. Marble fireplaces throughout display shallow mouldings and paterae.

A central passage running along the house's axis provides a vista through semi-circular arches; the north arches have glazed lunettes above, while the south arch features a balcony to the back staircase. Tall central arches open into the hall, which contains arched doorways, niches, and openings to the main staircase. The hall ceiling retains parts of its modillion cornice but now has a circular panel instead of an opening to the upper gallery and lantern. The room above features shallow pendentives on early 20th-century marbled columns. The hall fireplace's flue has been diverted to provide heating for the stairwell.

The fine staircase has cantilevered stone treads carried in a fan round the semi-circular east end; the wrought iron balustrade is attributed to Tijou. The section from the first floor to the attic is later but follows the same style. A coffered barrel vault runs across the axis above. The interior demonstrates considerable spatial interest enhanced by restrained detailing.

HISTORY AND ALTERATIONS

Wotton House was built for Richard Grenville, father of the builder of Stowe. Its layout and massing reflect Buckingham House (1702–5), which has been attributed to William Talman with William Winde's involvement; Winde's possible involvement at Wotton is suggested. The earlier attribution of the design to Sir James Thornhill, who decorated the interior in 1713–16, is no longer accepted. John Keene, the Master Mason employed at the house, may also have contributed to the design.

The statesman George Grenville was born here in 1712. Although the principal family seat moved in the 18th century to Stowe, Wotton remained the family burial place and continued in active use. A devastating fire on 29 October 1820 prompted the 2nd Marquis of Buckingham (who became the 1st Duke of Buckingham & Chandos from 1822) to commission Sir John Soane to undertake repairs and alterations in 1820–23, at a total cost of £12,767. Soane considerably lowered the attic storey and created a tribune—a dramatic internal space rising through several floors—as well as a new curving staircase.

Further internal alterations were undertaken in 1910, and in 1929 after another fire, when A.S.G. Butler (later Lutyens's biographer) carried out work for the owner Michael Beaumont MP, including the flooring-over of the tribune. Subsequently, further alterations were made. The house was rescued from demolition in 1958 when purchased by Mrs Brunner. She engaged Donald Insall & Associates to reverse Butler's interventions and reinstate Soane's work.

Wotton House, set in fine parkland and with its adjoining pavilions, represents an outstanding country house with fabric reflecting two major campaigns of development.