Description

SO 83 SE FORTHAMPTON

2/30 Forthampton Court

16.1.63
II*

Country house. Developed as residence for the abbots of Tewkesbury
C12-mid C16. Great Hall and solar block probably built by Abbot
Thomas Parker C15. North-east wing added by John Wakeman, Bishop
of Gloucester, died 1549. Minor alterations by Isaac Maddox,
Bishop of Worcester mid C18. Remodelled by Philip Webb for John
Yorke 1889-91, further modified by F.S. Chesterton 1913 and by R.
Blenham-Bull in 1958. C15 hall rendered, solar block; close-
studded timber-framing to first floor, brick facing to ground
floor. North-east wing brick with sandstone plinth and diagonal
buttresses, remainder of house brick or rendered brick, stone slate
roof, brick stacks. Plan: Great Hall with solar block attached at
north corner. Chapel and mid C16 block at east corner of hall
extended southwards. The whole now comprises three 3-sided
courtyards. South-west facade (former entrance front). Triple-
gabled, 2-storey former servants wing left (Webb) lit by 12-pane
sashes. Two-windowed gable-end of Hall block set back on right
also lit by 12-pane sashes. Large bay window in right hand wall of
Great Hall (Chesterton 1913) in front of canted stair turret
(Webb). Webb entrance tower front right with double plank doors
flanked by simple limestone columns supporting curved wood lintel,
blind round-headed arch over with moulded stone kneelers. Part of
first floor of right-hand wall of courtyard close-studded jettied
timber-framing supported on limestone corbels (Webb). Sash-
windowed block right of entrance by R. Blenham-Bull 1958 (formerly
close-studded jettied block by Webb). Principal features of garden
front mid C18 canted bay right. Twin-gabled extension at centre
(in position of former canted bay). North east front; gable end of
Great Hall at rear of courtyard, behind flat-roofed C20 entrance
porch. First floor chapel left of porch, pointed 3-light window
with Perpendicular tracery in gable end. C20 six-light casement
with leaded-panes and segmental head to ground floor. Two-light
window with cusped trefoil headed lights and quatrefoil in
rectangular surround in right-hand wall of chapel. Two-light
eroded sandstone window with stiled-headed lights to ground floor
of mid C16 block. Eroded moulded sandstone string between ground
and first floor. Eroded stone bosses set in brickwork of first
floor. Beasts head gargoyle at east-facing corner. Bosses and
gargoyle probably reused from demolished Lady Chapel of Tewkesbury
Abbey. Close-studded timber-framed solar block right of entrance.
Interior; the Great Hall, 5 bays, trussed collar beams, curved wind
braces, moulded wall plate retaining one carved angel corbel.
Large original flat-chamfered-window surround with 3-sided head
high up in wall right of fireplace. Similar window no longer
visible found left of fireplace. Four-arched, flat-chamfered
doorway at ground floor level right of right-hand window. Open
well staircase (Webb) with turned balusters and open lattice-work
panels off hall to first floor chapel. Chapel; 2-bay roof with
trussed collar beams matching trusses in Great Hall. Fragments of
reused medieval window glass in both windows. Blocked single
lancet with mutilated cusped head in corridor leading off chapel.
Flat-chamfered coffered beams and tall sandstone Tudor-arched
fireplace in former gun room on ground floor at mid C16 block.
Billiards Room, library and small hall designed by Webb.
Inscription in Latin over fireplace in small hall recording the
restoration and enlargement of the house by Philip Webb for John
Yorke dated 1891. Webb fireplace in former dining room. History:
long association with the abbots and bishops of Tewkesbury and
Gloucester and Worcester. Childhood home of Henry Yorke the
novelist Henry Green. An important illustration of Philip Webb's
attitude to restoration of an historic building. (Philip Webb's
restoration of Forthampton Court, Architectural History Review,
Vol. 24, P.92 and Country Life, Sept. 27 and Oct. 11, 1979.)

Listing NGR: SO8701231777

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17538600

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

• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record