Walls, turrets and gateway to east forecourt of Montacute House

ST4917 7/129

MONTACUTE CP THE BOROUGH (North side, off) Walls, turrets and gateway to east forecourt of Montacute House

(formerly listed as Pair of Garden Houses and walls of east forecourt at Montacute House)

19.4.61

GV I Enclosing elements of forecourt. C16. By William Arnold for Sir Edward Phelips. Ham stone ashlar, cast iron gates. The walling about 3.5 metres high, with about 2m solid ashlar, then open balustrading with copings north and south walls twenty bays, with piers capped with obelisk finials marking each bay, in the fifth bay from the house on each side small gateway with pair C19 cast iron gates, and to the eleventh bay from the house an open circular turret, with moulded flat roof carried on six Doric columns, with groups of flying buttresses over reflecting the ogee roofs of the corner pavilions (q.v), which these walls link to the house. The east wall of the forecourt links these two pavilions, and is of fifteen bays, the centre bay being a wide gateway having tall square piers with frieze band, cornice caps, steps and open globe and point finials, again echoing the pavilions, and with pair C19 cast iron gates: this last gateway replaces the former gate-house, which seems to have been demolished by the late C17.

One of the most impressive features of the original house, the entrance was superseded by the 1785 west front: the forecourt became a garden, later laid out to design of Victoria Sackville-West.

(Girouard M and others, Montacute House, National Trust 1985).

Listing NGR: ST5000017143