Description

SO 85 NE HINDLIP CP -

7/7 Hindlip Hall

-

GV II*

Country house, now Police headquarters (West Mercia Constabulary). Early
C19, with late C19 and mid-C20 alterations and additions. Cream-coloured
brick with ashlar dressings, part slate, part copper roofing, massive brick
chimneys. Symmetrical composition in Greek Revival style; main rectangular
block, 3 storeys, 5 bays, flanked by projecting wings attached by overlapping
pavilions. Main art: 3 storeys plus mid-C20 attic storey with copper-sheeted
sides and flat roof behind parapet; sill band beneath first floor windows.
1:3:1 bays; giant pilasters at ends, central 3 bays break forward with pediment;
all windows have moulded architraves; first floor windows are glazing bar
sashes, 9-pane sashes on second floor and 5 casements in attic storey; ground
floor windows of outer bays are full length 15-pane sashes with architrave and
cornice above; at centre is a blind tetrastyle Ionic portico with cast iron
columns within which is a central doorway with flanking windows, all round-
headed with console-shaped keyblocks, imposts and all having barred segmental
fanlights; the windows are multi-paned casements and there are part-glazed
double doors; each side are large, elliptical windows, similarly detailed; a
string course runs beneath sill level. Pavilions: late C19 replacing original
quadrants. Pyramidal-roofed; 2 storeys with sill band beneath first floor
windows; balustraded parapet at the centre of which is carved the coat of arms
of the Allsopp family on the left pavilion and the crest of the West Mercia
Constabulary on the right pavilion. Three bays; all windows are 4-pane sashes
with moulded architraves; the central ground floor windows have an architrave
and cornice above and in the left one is an inserted C20 door. Wings: also
of 2 storeys but lower in height; band between storeys and low parapet to
hipped roofs. Three bays; ground floor has 3 blind, round-headed archways
with impost band; all windows have gauged flat heads; left wing has glazing
bar sashes inserted in the archways, & 9-pane first floor sashes; right wing
has a C20 casement in the left archway, a central glazing bar sash, and 2
first floor C20 casements, and the right end bay obscured by a later extension.
Garden elevation to south: main art: 3 storeys and attic with band and parapet
as front; 1:3:1 bays with pilasters at main bay divisions. Outer ground floor
bays have canted bay windows; all windows have moulded architraves; ground
floor has 15-pane full length sashes except for windows at sides of canted
bays which have 10 panes; glazing bar sashes at first flour level, 9-pane
sashes on the second floor; and 5 casements in the attic storey; central
doorway has multi-paned door; moulded parapet between scrolls above central
3 bays. Side wings now much altered and extended. Interior: main ground
floor rooms have moulded cornices and doorheads. Entrance hall has 2 Ionic
columns with flanking antae. Open well staircase to right front of main part
with wrought iron balusters and moulded handrail.
A timber-framed manor house originally occupied site, replaced in 1572 by a
large brick building. This was destroyed by fire in 1820 and the present
structure was built for Viscount Southwell. He died in 1860 and the house
was sold to Henry Allsopp, a brewery magnate, made first Baron Hindlip in
1886 and who undertook the pavilion alterations. In the early C20 the Allsopp
family moved to Wiltshire and the estate was sold to Worcestershire County
Council in 1947. It has been the headquarters of the West Mercia Constabulary
since 1967. [A S Maund: The History of Hindlip, (West Mercia Constabulary
publication 1983)].

Listing NGR: SO8811658565

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Hindlip Hall at Wikipedia
• Hindlip Hall official website
• Wikidata Q17548564

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.

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