Description

HARDWICK WITH YELFORD STANDLAKE ROAD
SP3706 (West side)
Cokethorpe
19/197 Cokethorpe School
12/09/55 (Formerly listed as Cokethorpe
House)

GV II*

Country house, now school. Built 1709 for Sir Simon Harcourt, of which south
front survives; extended to rear c.1730 and refronted 1780; interior remodelled
in 1913. Limestone ashlar; hipped stone slate roof; moulded ashlar stacks.
U-plan with 2 rear wings. Georgian style. Symmetrical 2-storey elevations. Front
of 2:3:2 fenestration has flat arches over tall horned sashes; canted central
bay has doorway with pulvinated frieze, and porch to front with unfluted Ionic
columns and balustraded parapet. Moulded eaves cornice and similar parapet
across front. Left (south) side wall of c.1710: pedimented 6-window range of
horned 6-pane sashes, set in moulded segmental-arched architraves with keyblocks
which touch storey band; similar cornice and parapet. T-shaped east wing of
c.1730 to rear right; of 9-window range with projecting outer blocks and keyed
flat arches over tall horned sashes on right side wall. Smaller 2-storey early
C18 service range to rear left, of similar materials; chamfered stone-mullioned
windows and 2 doors (one with C18 Norfolk latch) set in beaded architraves.
Interior: much remodelling in 1913. Hall has panelling and fireplace dated 1913;
panelling and fireplace with acanthus-leaf borders in room to rear; panelled
stair hall to rear left has dog-leg stairs with turned balusters. North wing (to
right) has similar service stairs with C18 dado panelling rising to first-floor
gallery with C18 dado panelling, and moulded cornice; ground-floor room to front
has acanthus-leaf bordering to panelling, possibly c.1730 (Pevsner) but with
later alteration, and overmantle with swags of c.1750. South wing (to left) has
small mid C18 panelled closet to rear right; early C18 bolection-moulded
panelling and fireplace and oval plasterwork ceiling in room to rear; room to
front has belection-moulded panelling with Corinthian pilasters and screen,
bolection-moulded marble fireplace and overmantel and similar plaster ceilings.
Attic of north wing has C16 bricks and some reused beams carved H for Harcourt.
Cokethorpe House was sold to Maximdean Western, a Director of the East India
Company, in 1908: it became a school in 1955.
(National Monuments Record; Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp.633-4;
Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock, PRN 11202).

Listing NGR: SP3714806184

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Cokethorpe House at Wikipedia
• Cokethorpe House official website
• Wikidata Q5141739

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)