Description

SU 4225 HURSLEY HURSLEY PARK

10/1 Hursley House
5/12/55
II*

Large country house. 1721-4, possibly by John James for Heathcote family,
enlarged and remodelled 1902-3 by A M Mackenzie for Sir George Cooper. Brick
with stone dressings, slate roof. C18 central part of 2 storeys and attic
on raised basement, 11 bays with slightly projecting centre, 3 bays with
portico on both sides, in 1903 to each end 3 bay cross-wings, projecting a
bay added, along with porte cochére to N entrance front, and glass and stone
conservatory at one end. N entrance front has in basement small 6-pane
sashes in segmental heads. Ground floor string course. In centre stone
porte cochére of 2 Doric columns on plinth each side of double doors in
architrave, with heavy entablature and low parapet, enclosing steps, and
encroaching on stone Doric portico to centre 3 bays. Each side 4 tall
18-pane sashes with stone sills. On 1st floor level recessed panels above
and below 18-pane sashes, except for centre bays. Wings are similar to
centre with stone quoins, basement and Doric portico, and 3 15-pane sashes
on ground and 3 18-pane sashes above with apron below. Stone cornice to
hipped roof with pedimented dormers containing 12-pane sashes. To centre of
roof raised viewing platform with stone balustrade, and large stacks with
stone heads at corners and similar stacks symmetrically positioned. Inside
central 1903 full depth hall, formerly lined with G Gibbons panelling from
Winchester College Chapel, removed except for door panels, but these and
other late C17 style features probably are 1903. Off central hall run
corridors along middle of building. Room to right of centre on entrance front
c1820 room with neo-classical fireplace of pilasters and decorated frieze.
On other side of corridor 2 small rooms of bolection panelling and overmantles
of C17 linen fold and arcaded panelling. Further along in wing Wedgewood
room of reassembled Adam plasterwork and fireplace. At end of corridor
staircase containing C18 parts. To left of centre on entrance front Library
with reused C18 panelling. On opposite side Boudoir c19O5 with C16 strap-
work panelling with pilasters. Across a corner is Elizabethan fireplace of
carved oolitic limestone with carved timber overmantle. Pevsner says of it
'A term atlas and a term caryatid imprisoned in strapwork and a lintel with
4 parts of the world most entertainingly portrayed and provided with a
multitude of animals'. In drawing room beside some C18 panelling and fire-
place. Country Life; Vol. XVI; p ; & Vol. XXIII: p

Listing NGR: SP4375931385

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Hursley House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5948532

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

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  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
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  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
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  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)