Description

ST 67 NW STOKE GIFFORD STOKE PARK

4/14 Dower House

G.V. II*

Country house, now hospital. Circa 1760, may include elements of C16 manor
house, altered c.1800. James Paty, perhaps following Thomas Wright of Durham.
Roughcast, coped and battlemented parapets. H-plan. South elevation, 3 storeys,
5 windows in centre, 3 in wings which terminate in canted bays, windows altered,
mainly to glazing bar sashes, between wings, ground floor only comes forward with
glazed colonnade under pierced battlements, plat and cill bands between ground and
first floors. Return elevation west has 6 very plain and altered bays, middle
3 recessed, ground floor retains 3 original glazing bar sashes, battlemented
parapet. Return elevation east: 7 very plain bays, all glazing bar sashes under
keystones, plat and cill bands, battlements. North (entrance) elevation; as
south with Gothic porch of c.1800, painted Berkeley motto 'Mihi Vobisque'and 2
C20 fire escapes. Interior: 3 rooms with plasterwork attributed to Thomas
Stocking remain: east corner room has a screen of Doric columns, entablature has
masks, ox-skulls and trophies, the ceiling has a central feature of 4 Bacchanalion
figures, around this, a band is crossed and surrounded by roses, this motif is
expanded in the bay where there is an elaborate flower basket; the central
eastern room was formerly a music room, the delicate ceiling includes violin,
pipes of Pan and a recorder; the south octagonal room has a complete suite of
moulded and fielded panelled doors with eared architraves, shutters and reveals
and a bolection moulded fireplace with floral swags; the large cantilevered open
well staircase has a heavily moulded handrail and thin turned balusters, early C19
plasterwork has Greek key roundel. Built for Norborne Berkeley, the house passed
at his death in 1770 to the Beauforts and was the dower house to Badminton until
1907. (Atkyns, History of Gloucestershire, 1712: J. Jancar, Research at Stoke
Park, 1981: D. Verey, Buildings of England : Gloucestershire, The Vale and the
Forest of Dean, 1970).

Listing NGR: ST6223377251

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• The Dower House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7730778

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)