The Great House
THE GREAT HOUSE, WITNEY STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1266237
- Date first listed:
- 12-Sept-1955
- List Entry Name:
- The Great House
- Statutory Address:
- THE GREAT HOUSE, WITNEY STREET
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1266237
- Date first listed:
- 12-Sept-1955
- List Entry Name:
- The Great House
- Statutory Address 1:
- THE GREAT HOUSE, WITNEY STREET
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- THE GREAT HOUSE, WITNEY STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Oxfordshire
- District:
- West Oxfordshire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Burford
- National Grid Reference:
- SP2528212145
Details
BURFORD AND UPTON WITNEY STREET
AND SIGNET (South side)
SP2512 (Enlargement) The Great House
7/254
12.9.55
GV II*
Town mansion. First on Burgage Rent Roll in 1685. Ashlar with chamfered
quoins, hipped Cotswold stone roof. Subdued English Baroque style with
local characteristics. 2 storeys, built-up attic (ie 3 storeys) and
basement. 7 bays. Moulded plinth over basement, flat string to attic
windows; cornice and crenellated parapet with alternating vases and
flaming urn finials; central pediment on cornice with in tympanum a Tudor
rose with glazed centre. Large square plan. Crenellated end chimney
stacks with chamfered quoins (see also Kingham House, Kingham C.P. q.v).
Sash windows with single vertical glazing bars in moulded architrave with
moulded cills; on ground floor with alternating segmental and triangular
pediments over pulvinated frieze, the central window has garland drapery
to frieze and pediment supported on brackets off slender pilasters.
Alternating circular and octagonal attic windows below cornice in square
architraves with panelled spandrels. Bullseye openings to basement in
bolection architraves with panelled spandrels. Central C20 6-panel door
approached by 4 D-plan steps, architrave, pulvinated frieze and segmental
pediment, set slightly lower than cornice of ground floor windows. Lower
2-storey-and-basement wing to left, ashlar below coursed and dressed
rubble, strings of main part continues over ground and 1st floors with
pendant drips over windows, 2 to each floor with rebated chamfered mullion
windows of 3-lights, altered to sash on ground floor right, moulded
doorway to right with 6-panel door; plain 2-light opening to left. Gable
ends ashlar with crenellated parapet and pine-cone finials and chamfered
quoins; cornice interrupted by small corbels to heavy chimney with moulded
offset, chamfered quoins and crenellation; outer bullseye attic windows
with panelled spandrels,moulded architraves and flat linking cill string.
East return has rainwater head with initials "CxR" over "F" (?
Fettiplace) .
2 extensions to rear. To east with parallel ridge, 3 windows with
pulvinated friezes and a plain parapet, linked to house by 2-bay block of
c.1710-1720; blocked doorway in west gable with a double hollow chamfer
moulding, bracketed shell hood over with foliage face in central
ornamental bracket. The west extension gabled, 3 windows with rusticated
surrounds on 1st floor. Small parallel ridged kitchen block to East
probably of single storey and attic.
A fine and imposing burgage house of late C17 with characteristics of
competent Wren school masons, normally attributed to Christopher Kempster;
but equally possibly by someone like say William Byrd.
The similarity of chimneys to Kingham House about 7 miles North is
striking.
Listing NGR: SP2528212145
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 422181
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 22-Jun-2026 at 16:00:29.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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