Wightwick Manor

Details

WOLVERHAMPTON

SO89NE WIGHTWICK BANK 895-1/4/178 (West side) 29/07/50 Wightwick Manor

GV I

House, now owned by the National Trust. 1887; extended 1893. By Edward Ould for Theodore Mander. Interior design by William Morris and C.E. Kempe. Brick with ashlar dressings and timber framing; tile roofs with brick stacks. Originally L-plan with west wing and north service wing with square tower to angle, later extended to T-plan with east guest wing. Vernacular Revival Style. South garden facade of 2 storeys, 5-window range to west. Timber-framed 1st floor; 2 projecting gables and right end cross wing with enriched bargeboards. Ground floor has cusped elliptical-headed lights to brick-mullioned windows; 1st floor has mostly canted timber oriels; small balcony to left of right end wing. Single-storey hall range to east has 2-storey cross wing; timber framing on ashlar plinth; richly carved bressummers, bargeboards etc. Hall has large gabled bay window with enriched timber mullioned and transomed windows with leaded glazing; other windows similar; cross wing has paired canted 1st floor oriels, gabled dormer to left; east return similar with end cross wings; treatment continued to north gable end. Many stacks with oversailing caps, those to east wing with richly moulded shafts. North elevation of west wing has 2 gables with ingle stack to right; gabled timber-framed 2-storey porch projects at angle with inscription over battened door; tower has embattled parapet. Service wing has simpler details and hipped roof; tile hanging to 1st floor, plastered east elevation; small kitchen court between service wing and east wing. INTERIOR: has Morris wallpapers and fabric hangings throughout, some brought in during C20; contemporary electric light fittings by Benson. Drawing room has ingle fireplace with window seat, panelled dado, fabric hangings, moulded cornice and ceiling, Kempe glass from his house (Old Place), fireplace with de Morgan tiles; hall has re-used C17 panelling from Old Manor (q.v.), window seat, Kempe glass; library has shelving and panelling, tiled fireplace with monochrome overmantel painting; morning room has cupboards with Spanish style ironwork, fireplace with de Morgan tiles; great parlour has painted arch-braced roof with panelling, fabric hangings over panelling with painted relief plaster frieze over, large ingle fireplace with seats and tiles, 2 ogee-headed entrances to west end; billiard room has ingle fireplace with tiles and copper hood, dais with balustrading, plaster ceiling, window seat; dining room has plaster ceiling, built-in sideboard; stair has turned balusters. 1st floor guest rooms have wall hangings, wallpapers, and fireplaces; family rooms are simpler, some fireplaces and built-in cupboards, some C17 panelling from Old Manor House. The house is an important example of the architecture and design of the late C19, containing much work by the leading designers of the day; one of only a few such houses. (Shell County Guides: Thorold H: Staffordshire: London: 1978-: P.182-5; The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Staffordshire: London: 1974-: P.310-11; Girouard M: The Victorian Country House: London: 1979-: P.375-80).

Listing NGR: SO8694698441

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

378650

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Girouard, M, The Victorian Country House, (1971), 375-380
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Staffordshire, (1974), 310-311
Thorold, H, Shell County Guides in Staffordshire, (1978), 182-185

End of official list entry

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