Description

SO 86 SW
2/44
29.7.59

GRIMLEY CP
Thorngrove

GV
II*

Country house. Late C18. Ashlar, slate roof behind parapet, brick ridge
stack to end main elevation; additional chimneys to rear. Three storeys
and moulded cornice, 3:1:2 + 3 bays articulated by 3 pilasters at ends and
roughly central. Main elevation: fourth bay contains entrance and projects
slightly and has small pediment containing a carved floral motif; 4-pane
ground floor sashes, first floor glazing bar sashes, second floor 6-pane
sashes; windows on lower 2 floors have small scalloped blind boxes; large
entrance portico with full entablature supported on paired Ionic columns,
paired Ionic half-columns flank double doorway with half-glazed doors.
Three bays at right end have large, full storey height 18-pane glazing bar
sashes on the ground floor, with scalloped canopies on shaped brackets; first
floor glazing bar sashes. South elevation: 3 bays, left one is bowed and the
central and right one are canted and have pilasters flanking their central
windows. The left bay has ogee-arched central, multi-paned doorway and
pointed arched multi-paned side lights, all with stained glass beneath
their actual archways; on the first floor is a glazing bar sash; the central
bay has 3 ground floor large plain sashes with blind boxes similar to those
to the right of the main facade, and 3 first floor 8-pane sashes also with
blind boxes. The right end bay had a central, ground floor 4-pane sash and
an 8-pane sash above; the side windows on both floors are blocked; on the
second floor are three 8-pane sashes. Interior: Drawing room to rear south
end has a large walnut chimney piece, Greek Revival style, round arched
grate and octagonal mirror above each flanked by paired Corinthian column
with entablature and enriched with marquetry and gilding; acanthus moulded
cornice, moulded doorheads with acanthus frieze, stuccoed ceiling, gilded
wall panels; Ballroom to right of front elevation has very fine painted
and stuccoed ceiling of early C19, cornice, doorheads and dado with egg and
dart mouldings. Hall has Ionic columns and square open well staircase with
wrought iron balusters and moulded handrail.
Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, lived at Thorngrove for several years.
It was also the home of Sir Samuel White Baker, the explorer.
The ditches, belonging to a Roman fort, have been partly excavated in the
grounds. (BoE).

Listing NGR: SO8221660091

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17547844

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

• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)