Wardington Manor

Details

WARDINGTON THORPE ROAD SP4846 (East side) Upper Wardington 15/194 Wardington Manor 08/12/55

GV II*

Manor House. C16 and earlier origins. Remodelled in 1665. Datestone GC 1665 and crest on the east front for George Chamberlayne. Initials GC repeated on lead rainwater heads. Major alterations in c.1905-14 by Clough William Ellis who added the kitchen and north-west wing in C17 style. Further alterations and additions by G.H. Kitchin and Randall Wells for the first Lord Wardington in c.1917-30 including: the library in the south-east wing by G.H. Kitchin, finished by Randall Wells; the 2 oriels with ogee canopies and finials on the east front wings. One by kitchin and one by Wells: the loggia beneath the west end of the south front by Wells; the 2-storey gabled porch with Tuscan columns and triglyph frieze by Kitchin; main entrance porch on the north-east by Randall Wells. Stone plinth foundations of C15/C16 core of coursed ironstone. Elsewhere ironstone ashlar. Steeply pitched red tile and stone slate roofs. Stone-coped gables and moulded kneelers. Mostly paired stone ridge and end stacks on chamfered stone bases. Original house recorded as L-plan, now an irregular H-plan. 2 storeys plus attics. East elevation facing road. 1:2:1 bays with central range flanked by 2 projecting wings. Central entrance has original oak door with planks, boards and external rail covering the joins. Wood lintel. Entrance is flanked by 5-light wood mullioned windows with wood lintels. First floor has 2 similar 6-light windows with wood lintels. Stone parapet with datestone and crest. 2 gabled dormers. Lead rainwater heads with initials G.C. Wings have C20 oriels; 2-light mullioned and transomed windows with hood moulds and label stops; blocked wood mullioned windows, sundial and wood mullioned and transomed windows on returns. Interior. Remodelled, but retaining original details including: the open well staircase of c.1600 in the south wing with tapered balusters and newel posts with lantern finials; moulded wooden doorways on the landing; timber roof in the south wing with arched wind-braces possibly of C15 date; 2-panelled doors with H-hinges. Hall is noted as having an imported C17 stone fireplace with 4-centred arched head, C17 and C20 panelling. The Library formed by G.H. Kitchin and Randall Wells is noted (BOE) as the most spectacular room in the house. Two floors were knocked into one. Open timber roof in C14 style incorporating early timbers. At one end a C17 style staircase and gallery copied from the original in the south wing. Former organ loft now houses part of library. Gallery has a large strapwork crest of c.1600. Much of the panelling in the library is of the same date with fluted pilasters dividing the bookshelves and an overmantel with blind arcading which came from Theydon Bois in Essex. Luscious (BOE) plasterwork decoration in the entrance hall, and further palsterwork of simpler design in the stairwell and bedrooms by Mrs. Randall Wells (Molly Cochrane). Decoration in the entrance hall includes a bold chevron pattern with bands of flint and a frieze of serpents. In the window reveals birds in coils of foliage, and on the ceiling Art Nouveau interpretations of Jacobean designs With plaster ribs and pendants. The only weakness (BOE) a thin relief on the wall of a crowned figure with a viol amongst flowering trees and exotic birds. Seven rooms are noted as panelled ranging from oak panelling of c.1600 to oak panelling designed by Mrs. Randall Wells in c.1930 for the principal bedroom. George Chamberlayne paid Hearth Tax on 15 hearths in 1665. Wardington Manor was bought by George Loveday in 1874, who gradually restored it. Further owners included the Shaw and Wallace families and after 1917 J. W. Pease (the first Lord Wardington). (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire: 1974, pp823-4; VCH: Oxfordshire: Vol X, p215; Country Life, April 25, 1914; Wood-Jones, R.B.: 1963, p249)

Listing NGR: SP4934146062

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

403447

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Salzman, L F, The Victoria History of the County of Oxford, (1972), 215
Pevsner, N, Sherwood, J, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, (1974), 823-4
Wood-Jones, R B, Traditional Domestic Architecture in the Banbury Region, (1963), 249
Country Life in 25 April, (1914)

End of official list entry

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