Longnor Hall

Details

SJ 4800-4900 LONGNOR C.P. LONGNOR

9/65 Longnor Hall 29.1.52

- I

Country house. Dated 1670, built for Sir Richard Corbett and finished c.1694 for his son, Uvedale Corbett, with alterations of 1838-42 by Edward Haycock of Shrewsbury. Red brick with yellow/grey sandstone ashlar dressings; hipped plain tile roof. Double pile plan of 7 x 5 bays. 2 storeys and attic over basement. North (entrance) front: tall chamfered stone plinth, chamfered quoins, moulded floor band at ground-floor cornice level, and moulded stone eaves cornice with C19 moulded cast-iron guttering; 3 large brick ridge stacks (fourth dummy stack for symmetry now removed). 2:3:2 bays; C18 glazing bar sashes, each with moulded stone architrave, pulvinated frieze and cornice, central first-floor window with triangular pediment; large central shaped gable (profile altered by Haycock) of 3 bays: outer windows with triangular pediments, central oval plaque with carved bird and moulded architrave above centre window flanking C19 octagonal ashlar turrets with moulded bases and capitals, stone coping, and pineapple finial at apex with flagpole behind; pair of flanking mid-C19 brick eaves dormers with segmental-headed sashes and stone-coped shaped gables; basement windows, some still with flat-faced or chamfered mullions. Central pair of doors with 2 bolection-moulded panels each, moulded stone architrave and stone doorcase with three-quarter Ionic columns, supporting entablature with carved (guilloche ornament) and dated soffit: R C 1670", pulvinated frieze, and large segmental pediment with carved coat of arms in tympanum. Flight of 6 stone steps has curving balustrades with moulded bases and handrails and panelled square end piers with moulded caps. C18 lead downpipe between second and third bays from left with paterae on fixings and C19 rainwater head lettered: "ERTC". Rear (park front): 2:3:2 bays. Five c.1838-42 brick eaves dormers with stone-coped shaped gables. Central pair of half-glazed doors with moulded architrave and stone doorcase consisting of corpulent fluted Corinthian pilasters, entablature including cornice with egg and dart enrichment, and large segmental pediment. 6 stone steps with curtails to top 4 (lower 2 later) and probably C18 wrought-iron balustrade with stick balusters, columular newels, and ramped handrails. Side elevations of 1:3:1 bays; windows with moulded architraves and central c.1840 brick eaves dormers with shaped gables. Interior: almost complete late C17 interiors. Entrance Hall: 5-bays wide; bolection- moulded panels with dado rail and moulded cornice; pairs of doors with 2 bolection-moulded panels, bolection-moulded architraves , pulvinated friezes and broken triangular pediments with carving in tympana (library doorway with swan-necked pediment and carved tympanum with urn above); small doors to service stairs at each end; heavy cross-beamed ceiling with moulded plaster cornices; fireplace with carved bolection-moulded surround and moulded cornice. Library: late C18 Adam-style ornament; bookcases have fluted square columns with acanthus capitals, enriched plaster frieze with shells, swags and festoons, and urn above each column and moulded cornice; enriched plaster ceiling with central, rose and radial wreathed segments with urns, diagonal corners and wide strips on 2 sides; fireplace has paired fluted pilasters (without entasis) with acanthus caps, fluted frieze with central plaque and urns above pilasters, moulded cornice and cast-iron grate. Smoking room: C17-style panelling with C18 moulded cornice and ceiling beams; C18 fireplace with depressed arch, panelled sides, and late C18 cast-iron grate with urns. Drawing room (centre of south front): painted bolection-moulded panelling with dado rail; 2 pairs of double doors in enfilade having lugged architraves, each with carved swags in raised centre, carved frieze and cornice, and carved bolection-moulded panel above. Compartmented beamed ceiling with moulded cornice: central panel has oval wreath of carved wood or moulded- plaster foliage and fruit with monograms (probably of Sir Richard Corbett) in spandrels. Fireplace with bolection-moulded marble surround and overmantel consisting of carved bolection-moulded panel with carved foliage at base, flanking carved drops, carved crossed palms above, and flanking tall panels with lugged bases; carved frieze and cornice above. Small Drawing Room: (kitchen at time of survey - October, 1985). Bolection-moulded panels and panelled doors, moulded architraves, cornices and ceiling beam, and fireplace with bolection-moulded marble surround. Dining Room: bolection-moulded panelling with dado rail, moulded architraves and cornices; Chinese wallpaper on 2 walls. Probably early C18 fireplace with depressed- arched marble surround and moulded cornice; overmantel with pair of panelled pilasters flanking panel with carved bolection moulding and carved festoons and cornice above; tall panels and pair of small doors flanking chimney- piece. Right-hand door leads to small room with moulded cornice and plaster ceiling with thin ribs in a geometrical pattern. Staircase Hall: wainscot panelling and moulded cornice; 2 pairs of doors with bolection- moulded panels and doorcases, each consisting of lugged architrave stopping short with scrolls, flanking enriched narrow panelled pilasters resting on tall bases with carved drops and supporting carved scroll brackets, carved frieze and cornice and broken segmental pediment. Elaborate staircase (cf Powis Castle, Powys) of 3 flights around square well with landings and first-floor balustrade on 2 sides: inlaid treads and risers with moulded nosings, heavily carved closed string, heavy balusters with carved leaf decoration, carved handrail, and square newels with enriched carved panels, bases and caps; carved waiscot panelling ramped up to panelled dies; landing with doorcases as hall but with closed segmental pediments, one of only ¾ width; carved cornice with egg and dart enrichment and carved consoles alternating with paterae. Two dog-leg service staircases, one probably late C17 with closed string, twisted balusters, moulded handrail and panelled square newel posts with pendants and one probably C18 with pulvinated closed string, turned balusters, and square newel posts with pendants. Bedrooms: almost complete survival of late C17 fittings and decoration including bolection-moulded wainscot panelling and fully panelled fireplace walls, fireplaces with bolection-moulded surrounds (some with pilastered and panelled overmantels), doors and architraves, and cornices etc. Attached small-dressing rooms (one now an Art Deco bathroom). Doors with bolection-moulded panels throughout house. The windows formerly had stone mullions and transoms (see patched architraves), the sashes probably date from the early to mid-C18. Haycock's work at the house included altering the eaves (see courses of C19 brickwork), altering the profile of the large shaped gable, and adding the dormers. Longnor Hall is a good example of the type of plan which Sir Roger Pratt called "a double pile" and is especially notable for the completeness of its late C17 fittings. V.C.H., Vol. VIII, p.110; B.O.E., p.174; H. Avray Tipping, English Homes. Period IV. Vol. I. Late Stuart, 1649- 1714, Country Life (1924), pp.145-54; Country Life (1964), Vol. CXXXV, pp.328-31 and 392-6; Colvin, p.407; The Archeological Journal, Vol. CXIII (1956), pp.199-200 and Vol. 138 (1981), pp.35-6.

Listing NGR: SJ4859400504

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

259606

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Elmington, C R, The Victoria History of the County of Shropshire, (1989), 110
Colvin, H M, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, (1978), 407
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Shropshire, (1958), 174
Archaeological Journal in Archaeological Journal, Vol. 113, (1956), 199-200
Country Life in Country Life, Vol. 135, (1964), 328-331
Archaeological Journal in Archaeological Journal, (1981), 35-36

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