The Coach House, Midgham Park, Midgham, West Berkshire

Summary

A former stable block which has been converted to domestic use, of C18, C19 and C20 dates.

Description

A former stable block which has been subdivided and converted to domestic use. The original building is principally of C18 date, with C19, C20 and C21 additions and alterations.

MATERIALS & PLAN: the walling is of brick, laid in Flemish bond, with a plain tile roof covering with lead dressings. The building is of one storey with an attic floor and L-shaped on plan.

EXTERIOR: the south front, which formed the principal front of the original stable yard, has a projecting gabled wing at right and three bays to the centre. The bay to right of centre projects slightly and has double, timber doors with strap hinges and a basket arched head. Above is a pedimental gable with a blocked oculus to the centre. The ridge above the centre carries a square, lead-covered base with a convex clock face to its centre, above which is an octagonal bellcote with angled timber posts and a copper-clad dome, crowned by a weathervane. At either side of this central bay the ground-floor sash windows have round-arched heads and the attic has dormers with flat heads. The right-hand bay also contains a plank door with basket-arched head. To the left of these central bays is a projecting gabled wing which has three, evenly-spaced, arched windows to the ground floor, which appear to have been inserted in the C20. A band divides the lower storey from the attic which has a central, arched window. Projecting south from the right corner of this wing is a portion of walling, of which the lower body, with its preserved rustication, is believed to be part of the original Midgham House, which stood on this site.

The west front has four arched bays to the ground floor, with a door to right of centre and arched sash windows. A smaller arched window is at far left. Three attic dormers have arched heads and their flanks are covered with lead sheeting.

The courtyard has the entrance archway and double doors to the centre of its southern side with arched windows at either side. The western side has a series of arched windows to the ground floor with flat-headed dormers to the attic. At far right is a glazed door with arched head. The other sides of the courtyard, as it was laid out in the C19, are indicated by the northern and eastern walls. These form parts of Walnut Cottage and Midgham Court respectively, but do not form part of this listed item.

INTERIOR: the interior of the Coach House has been divided to provide a number of reception rooms at ground floor level for the full width of the building along the southern range and with a connecting corridor to the western range, including the entrance hall.

Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the eastern wing of the former stable courtyard, Midgham Park, now known as Midgham Court, and the northern wing of the former stable courtyard, Midgham Park, now known as Walnut Cottage, together with the C20 extension to the west of The Coach House, Midgham Park are not of special architectural or historic interest.

History

This courtyard of buildings originally formed the stable block to a country house, Midgham House. The house dated in part from the C18 and was owned by the Poyntz family between 1735-1840. During that period the house was remodelled by John Johnson. Midgham House had a stable block, some parts of which may also date back to the 18th century. The estate was owned by the Earl of Clarendon from 1947 until 1955 after which it appears the main house fell into disrepair and became derelict following a fire. The main house was subsequently demolished in 1967. In 1971 a smaller house with Gothick windows was built on a different site some distance from the original.

There is some discrepancy in the mapping of the site. A map prepared by the estate agents Knight, Frank and Rutley in 1856 shows a quadrangle of buildings, but the Ordnance Survey (OS) map published in 1880 shows only the southern range of the stable block standing, wheras the OS map published in 1899 shows three other sides completed. The 1880 mapping of the site is divided over two sheets and it could be that the northern sheet was incorrectly marked, alternatively three of the sides may have been demolished after the sale in 1856 and later replaced.

The stable block was owned by the estate until 16th December 1975. Thereafter the estate sold part of the stable block to private owners. The property transferred included the south, west and north sides of the stable yard. The east side of the property was initially retained by the estate.

The stable block consists of buildings that enclose a rectangular stable yard. The south and west sides of the yard, together with a spur leading off to the west from the north-west corner of the building, comprise what is now known as The Coach House. The north side comprises what is now known as Walnut Cottage and the east side comprises what is now known as Midgham Court.

The new owners divided the property into two parts in around 1980 and it is this division into two properties which was referred to in the List description revised in 1980. The south and west sides of the building became known as the Coach House and the north side as the Stable Block. The Stable Block was subsequently sold and then converted to form a house.

Between 1980 and 1983 the new owners of the Stable Block converted the property from its original condition into a dwelling house and its name changed again to Walnut Cottage. It would appear that the whole of this northern range which now constitutes Walnut Cottage was replaced and the four exterior walls were rebuilt with replacement brickwork, with the possible exception of some older walling on the south side of Walnut Cottage, which forms the northern wall of the courtyard. Two chimney stacks were built and modern, single-glazed wooden windows were fitted. The roof was completely replaced. Since this conversion two modern flat-roofed extensions have been added to the north side, one an entrance hall with lavatory, and the other an extension to the kitchen.

The eastern side of the courtyard, now known as Midgham Court, has been converted into a dwelling house. This does not resemble the original building as can be seen from archive photographs and also seems to have been completely rebuilt in the mid to late C20.

The single-storey extension to the west of The Coach House also apppears to have been added in the 1980s and is not shown on earlier maps.

Reasons for Listing

The Coach House, Midgham Park Estate, Berkshire is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* for its clear quality as an item of estate architecture, built to impress and to enhance its setting;
* for its sensitive conversion to domestic use.

Historic interest:

* as a distinctive reminder of the former existence of Midgham Park as a country house estate.

Group value:

* with the estate Church of St Matthew, Midgham Park (Grade II).

External Links

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