There was a large country house on the St Leonard's Hill site since 1717 when the antiquarian William Stukeley referred to it as 'The Hermitage'. The house was subsequently rebuilt, altered and renamed on a number of occasions, with its final incarnation as St Leonard's Hill at its purchase by Sir Frances Tress Barry in 1872. Barry rebuilt the house and sold it in 1924 after the death of his wife. The new owner set about demolishing it almost at once, and it was finally entirely demolished in 1990 when it was deemed to be a dangerous structure.
This is part of the Series: HBL01/01 Series Of Photographic Negatives And Prints; within the Collection: HBL01 The Bedford Lemere Collection
Source: Historic England Archive
Renaissance Revival, Staircase, Country House