Details
TL 41 SE SHEERING SHEERING LOWER ROAD
2/11
20.2.67 Durrington Hall
GV II*
Country house, mid-C18, extended in late C19. Plastered brickwork (exposed on
NW elevation), slate roof. Square plan, aspect approx. SW, with internal
chimney stacks near W corner and middle of SE side. Late C19 extension to NE
with chimney stacks near N and S corners. 2 storeys with attics. Main
elevation, ground floor, porch with modillioned pediment, 2 fluted Corinthian
columns on plinths and 2 fluted Corinthian pilasters, semi-circular niche to
each side, 2 original bays each of 3 double-hung sash windows of 24 and 18
lights. First floor, 1:3:1 arrangement of Venetian windows and double-hung sash
windows, the latter of 12 lights each, with a detached segmental head over the
middle one. Oblong recesses at outside, on both floors. Modillioned cornice and
pediment with circular light and floral design. Pedimented dormer to each side,
the N of 6 lights, the S dummy. Hipped roof. The whole forms a symmetrical
composition, except the chimney stacks, of which the S has diagonally grouped
shafts. Garden (SE) elevation, ground floor, 7 windows, various, all with
cornices. First floor, 7 double-hung sash windows of 12 lights, 5 in the
original building with pedimented heads, those in the C19 extension larger and
with cornices. Modillioned cornice across both parts. 3 dormers in original
building, the middle one with segmental pediment, the others triangular. The
interior is complete with all doors and doorcases, panelling, all fireplaces
except in the S first floor room, blocked. Oak staircase with 3 turned
balusters to each tread, and scrolled ends, asymmetrical. In the entrance hall,
2 inserted Ionic columns and beam with Greek key design on soffit, early C19.
Muilman stated in 1771 'A capital mansion, called Durrington-House, has lately
been built about a mile south-west from the church, upon the estate belonging to
Shering Ball manor' (A History of Essex, IV, 106). He named the owner as Samuel
Feake, who had built the house after inheriting the estate from his father of
the same name, who had bought it at the collapse of the South Sea Company, i.e.
1720. This information and the architectural style, tend to date the
construction a decade or two earlier than the date of his publication. The
architect is not known. An engraving opposite depicts the house in all
essentials as now, including the bays, although shown with fewer glazing bars.
A coach house is depicted to the NW with square clock tower and cupola. This
building is missing, but the same clock tower and cupola seem to have been
transferred to a C19 coach house approx. 60 metres to the N.
Listing NGR: TL4898013061
