Description

SX 55 NE SPARKWELL SPARKWELL
10/141
Beechwood House

II

Country house in small landscaped park.
Reputedly built in 1780, and remodelled circa 1850. Stuccoed stone rubble and with
slate roofs. Asymmetrical, although the original plan was probably more regular.
Plain parapet with band, band at first floor level and plain plinth. Two storeys.
West entrance front, asymmetrical, projecting at centre and right, with central mid
C19 solid porch with large corner piers, cornice and balustrade. South front of 5
bays, left hand projects with mid C19 two-storey bay with bracketed cornice over
ground floor tripartite sashes. The east side of 2:3:2 bays with large central mid
C19 square bay with balustrade and 3-light window above with round arches. The east
front extends to right (north) 4 bays with C18/19 sashes in this north wing which has
cupola and C19 dormers. Some of the C18/19 sashes survive and some are complete with
glazing bars, while the other sashes have been remodelled in laid C19 with moulded
architraves and plate glass. Service wings to north. Plain rendered chimneystacks.
Interior: arranged around a central hall with contemporary staircase. Some of the
original joinery survives. The drawing room to south-west has a most unusual white
marble chimneypiece said to have come from a house in Ireland, with 2 caryatids, like
African goddesses, supporting a moulded shelf over a frieze carved in relief depicting
Europa and the Bull and other animal subjects. Two other ground floor rooms have
Walter Crane design wallpaper.
Charlotte M Yonge, the novelist, is said to have often visited and to have written
much of her work at Beechwood.

Listing NGR: SX5780657486

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26401212

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

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)