Buntingsdale Hall

Details

SUTTON UPON TERN C.P. TAYLEUR DRIVE (south side) SJ 63 SE 3/136 Buntingsdale Hall 14.2.79 GV II*

Country house. Dated 1721 (downpipe straps), for Bulkeley Mackworth. Possibly by John Prince, but probably completed under the supervision of Francis Smith of Warwick. Extended and altered in 1857 by Smith of Shrewsbury. Red brick with red sandstone ashlar dressings. Roof not visible. 6 brick stacks with stone cornices. 9 x 5 bays with addition to north. 1857 work in an early C18 style. 2 storeys and attic over basement. East (entrance front: 1:2:3:2:1 bays articulated by a Giant Corinthian order. Fluted pilasters (except for second and fifth which are plain) supporting a section of frieze and architrave and full cornice, breaking forward over each but interrupted to centre 3 bays. Panelled dies to attic with moulded cornice, small triangular pediments over end bays, central 3-bay open triangular pediment, broken back with carved stone cartouche in tympanum, and balustraded parapet with panelled dies. Glazing bar sashes with moulded stone cills and gauged segmental heads with raised triple keystone. Attic windows with flat arches. Basement oculi in end bays with moulded architraves and triple keystones. Some basement windows are blind and painted in imitation of sashes. Pair of central doors with 3 raised and fielded panels, wooden tympanum above with 4 raised and fielded panels, and segmental-headed moulded architrave with raised triple keystone. Corinthian stone doorcase consisting of pilasters, each supporting a section of entablature, and a broken and open segmental pediment. Left-hand return front: 2:3:2 bays with central full-height bow. Central ground-floor window with moulded architrave and raised keystone. Late C20 inserted doorway and steps in second bay from left. Square-section load downpipes flanking bow; rainwater heads with Mackworth arms and crest, acanthus ornament at junction of pipes and cornice, and straps with the initials "BM", the date "1721", and other ornament, including paterae,etc. West (garden) front: 3:3:3 bays divided by pilasters. Central break has 3-bay triangular pediment, broken back with oval panel in tympanum. Pair of central C20 glazed doors with 6-pane overlight and segmental-headed moulded architrave with raised triple keystone. Ionic stone doorcase with pilasters supporting sections of entablature and open segmental pediment. North wing: 1857. Two storeys over basement. Identical east and west fronts. 1:3:1 bays. Recessed end bays, northern bay with attic. Interior: remodelled in 1857 when the full-height entrance hall was created and the staircase moved to its present position. Entrance hall: black and white stone flooring. Tall bolection-moulded panelling up to first floor level with cornice and raised and fielded panelling above to cornice and coving. Central doorway at rear with segmental pediment above on carved brackets. First-floor gallery above with turned balusters, raised to centre. Central first-floor doorway with doorcase consisting of fluted pilasters and open triangular pediment. Stone fireplace with free-standing cable-fluted Ionic columns and rusticated surround with keystone. Central ground-floor rear room: doorway with moulded architrave and segmental pediment. Fireplace removed. Staircase hall: 2 ground-floor round archways with marble piers and moulded arches with panelled soffits and keystones. Doorway with pulvinated frieze and triangular pediment. Probably reset early C18 fireplace with bolection-moulded surround. Cornice with egg and dart enrichment. Re-ordered c.1721 staircase consisting of 3 flights around square well with landings; open string with carved brackets, 3 fluted balusters per tread, moulded ramped handrail, and panelled dado. Landing balustrade. 2 x 3 round archways at head of stairs with square piers, and moulded arches with panelled soffits and keystones. 4 doorways with moulded architraves and triangular pediments (some removed at time of survey - April 1985). Rich cornice. 2 principal rooms in 1857 wing, including the dining room: rich cornice with vine trail and egg and dart enrichment. Fireplace removed. Ballroom: rich plaster panelling. Rich cornice with dentils, egg and dart enrichment, mutules and paterae Central ceiling rose. 8-panelled doors with segmental-pedimented overmantels on brackets. Windows with pelmets. Small anteroom with tall raised and fielded and bolection-moulded panels, and cornice with egg and dart enrichment. Late C18 or early C19 back staircase with circular well, consisting of open string with brackets; turned balusters and moulded handrail. Basement: brick-vaulted cellars. Possibly reset early C18 fireplace consisting of depressed-arched surround with fluted key to lintel. Reused C17 panelling. C19 kitchen with cast-iron columns. C18 stair. Documents concerning Buntings- dale have recently come to light (Spring 1986) which suggest that John Prince supervised some work at Buntingdale. It has been suggested that Mackworth argued with Prince, dismissed him, and appointed Francis Smith to complete the work (information kindly supplied by Mr Andor Gomme). Avray Tipping refers to a document, since lost, recording the supply to Smith of "a pad nag to ride hither from Warwick". The house stood in Parkland (now broken up) with a lake to the west. At the time of survey (April 1986) many of the fixtures and fittings had been dismantled or stolen. The panelled business room and bedroom illustrated in the Country Life article were not noted at the time of survey. M. Avray Tipping, Country Life (1917), pp. 420-28; B.O.E., pp. 90-1. Colvin, pp. 661-2; Kerry Downes, English Baroque Architecture, pp 95-61; Ed. P. Reid, Burkes and Savills Guide to Country Houses. Vol II. Hereford, Shropshire, Warwicks and Worcester, p. 81; Marcus Binney, Our Vanishing Heritage, pp. 27-31; Shropshire Records Office.

Listing NGR: SJ6547532538

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

260295

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Binney, M, Our Vanishing Heritage, (), 27-31
Colvin, H M, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, (1978), 661-2
Downes, K, English Baroque Architecture, (1966), 95-161
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Shropshire, (1958), 90-1
Country Life in Country Life, (1917), 420-28
Reid, P, Burkes and Savills Guide to Country Houses in Herefordshire Shropshire Warwickshire Worcestershire, (1980), 81

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