Manor House

Details

GOSFORD AND WATER EATON WATER EATON SP51SW 6/45 Manorhouse 26/11/51 GV II* Manor house. c.1586 for William Frere, enlarged and altered late C17; restored 1881-2 by T.G. Jackson, and c.1905 by G.F. Bodley as tenant. Coursed squared limestone with ashlar dressings; Stonesfield-slate roofs with ashlar stacks. L plan with added rear wing. 2 storeys plus attic. 3-window front has a central 2-storey porch with a 4-centred archway flanked by Doric columns on pedestals, below a plain entablature, above which rise Ionic pilasters flanking a 3-light stone-mullioned window; left bay has a large 2-storey 8-light canted mullioned-and-transomed bay window; bay window and porch are crowned by very shallow gables with obelisk finials, above which stand stone dormer gables with similar finials, moulded kneelers, and 4-light mullioned windows. Inner doorway is also arched and has the original massive plank door. Right bay has 6-light mullioned-and-transomed window over a mullioned cellar window, but a similar first-floor window has been reduced to 2 lights and the dormer gable has a 2-light window. Hood moulds at ground and first floors form continuous string courses, and all windows have leaded glazing. To right of the porch are small subsidiary windows. Both end walls have gable parapets with finials, but the left end was intended as an internal wall, the front of the demolished bay indicated by part of the court wall (q.v.). The right gable wall has a Tudor-arched cellar door, a 4-light mullioned-and-transomed first-floor window and a dormer gable with a 4-light window. This wall returns to contemporary rear wing with, at ground floor, two 3-light transomed windows with plain chamfered mullions (all other windows have ovolo mullions), a 5-light first-floor window and a further 4-light dormer in a similar stone gable. Rear gable wall has a massive chimney projection with 4 diagonal shafts. Left side of wing has first-floor windows and dormer gables of similar type. Rear of main range retains a 3-light transomed first floor window and has a large chimney projection with 3 diagonal shafts. The hipped-roofed stair wing, returning from the left end of the main range, has a 2-light mullioned window with label. C17 service wing, to rear of chimney projection, is of one storey plus attic, with wooden cross windows and a gable parapet with plain projecting kneelers; it continues as a single-storey range with old leaded casements and external stone steps leading to a loft. Small C18 single-storey extension to rear of main wing has a canted bay window with sashes. Interior: hall has no screens passage but is lined with C17 oak panelling; a fine wooden doorway, with ovolo and concave mouldings and carved vase stops, leads right, and a Tudor-arched stone doorway leads to the stair wing which contains a long dogleg stair with renewed balustrade. Study has late C17 panelling painted green with gilding, and incorporating an arched display alcove; wooden doorway has double-ovolo moulding and carved vase stops. Rear wing has heavy timber-framed partitions with chamfered doorways, and incorporates a re-set 4-centre arched stone doorway with recessed spandrels inscribed "1586" and "W.F."; dogleg stair rising to attics has C17 heavy turned balusters and knob finials to the newels. Ornamental plasterwork in hall and dining room (Tudor roses, fleur-de-lys, arabesques etc.) is probably C19. First floor has much C17 panelling, mostly altered or re-used, and has Tudor-arched stone doorways to the porch chamber and leading from the stair wing. Roof structure is C19. The house was owned by the second Baron Lovelace during the Civil War; G.F. Bodley died there in 1907. The estate has been owned by the Sawyer family since 1767. Forms a fine group with the chapel (q.v.) and subsidiary buildings (q.v.). (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp.825-6; H Avray Tipping, "Water Eaton Manor, oxfordshire", Country Life, Nov. 9th 1907, pp.666-74; V.C.H.: Oxfordshire, Vol.12 (to be published)).

Listing NGR: SP5155712067

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

243282

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Salzman, L F, The Victoria History of the County of Oxford, (1990)
Pevsner, N, Sherwood, J, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, (1974), 825-6
Country Life in Country Life, (1907), 666-74

End of official list entry

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