Description

LONGSTOWE OLD NORTH ROAD
TL 35NW (West side)

2/123
Longstowe Hall

GV II

Mansion house. Late C16 origin remodelled and much rebuilt in late C19 and
early C20. The early C20 alterations and additions are by Sir John W Simpson.
Red brick and stone dressings. Plain tiled roofs with stacks reproducing those
of late C16 or early C17 with octagonal shafts with moulded brickwork and
projecting, linked cappings. Original E-plan of late C16 house with principal
front to north west, altered in late C19 and again in early C20 when the ranges
to the south east were added and a new principal front created on the south
east side. North west facade in two storeys and attics. Three centre gables
contain or incorporate some brickwork in the lower courses from the earlier
house. Late C19 central porch of three storeys with shaped gable and Ketton
limestone surrounds to cross frame casements flanked by obelisks. Central
fluted Doric portico late C19, spanning the three central window bays. Ketton
limestone. Balustraded on high plinths. Round headed rusticated arch to
central doorway. The pediments to a number of the remaining windows on the
north west front reproduce those of the original house. The north east front
has a four stage stair turret with open sided top stage, leaded polygonal roof
with weathervane. Lead rainwater heads and down pipes to this part of the
house have the initials ADB and the date 1912. A doorway in a four centred
arch has a fanlight with a depressed ogee arch with finial. The fenestration
is hung sashes with sheet glass. South east front of long narrow red brick,
Flemish bond. Two storeys and attics. Two dormers. Four gable facade and
central porch of Ketton limestone. Round headed outer arch with egg and dart
continuous moulding flanked by Jacobean style pilaster supporting an
entablature and balustrade. Panelled double doors in round headed arch.
Interior contains some reset main beams of C15 and C16, and the north
west-south east roof has C16 principal rafters and purlins morticed flush to
them, and cambered collars. A wing adjoining this main range has a roof, C16
with stop chamfered principals with the purlins morticed to them. A number of
ground floor rooms contain a large amount of continental wood carvings. The
original house is said to have been built by Anthony Cage, d.1603. It was
bought in 1857 by the Stanleys who drastically altered it c.1880. From
1897-1914 the house was again much altered and extended by Mr Briscoe with
Sir John W Simpson as architect.

Burkes and Savills: Guide to Country Houses
RCHM: West Cambs mon (2)
Pevsner: Buildings of England p433
VCH: Cambs vol V

Listing NGR: TL3081255688

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Longstowe Hall official website
• Wikidata Q26493587

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

• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)