Description

LITTLE HOUGHTON BEDFORD ROAD
SP8059 (North side)
11/129 Little Houghton House and
attached office wing

GV II*

Country house. c.1825 with later C19 alterations. Limestone ashlar, hipped slate
roof and white brick ridge stacks. L-plan. Late Georgian style. 3-storey,
5-window range. Principal elevation facing park to east has central pedimented
bay which breaks forward slightly and has part-glazed, double-leaf doors with
moulded stone lintel, fan-light and side-lights in Venetian window style stone
surround. 16-pane sash window to 1st floor above has moulded stone surround and
moulded cornice-hood on brackets. 16-pane sash window to 2nd floor above with
moulded stone surround. Otherwise horned sash windows to ground floor with
moulded stone surrounds and 16-pane sashes to 1st and 2nd floors with
flat-arched heads. Storey bands at ist and 2nd floor levels, that to 1st
continuous, that to 2nd floor broken by central bay. Moulded stone eaves
cornice. 4-window elevation to south with similar detailing to windows and
storey bands. Large later C19 stone entrance porch to rear. 2-storey office wing
to rear of main range to left of porch with projecting wing extending to stable
block (q.v.). Interior: flying staircase in curved well with round-headed niches
at intermediate levels, turned balusters, scrolled tread ends, and ramped and
wreathed handrail. Ornamental plaster cornices to ground floor rooms. Drawing
Room has statuary marble chimneypiece. Grey veined marble chimneypiece to
Library. Dining Room has veined black marble chimneypiece to one end and square,
unfluted attached piers to other end with acanthus capitals. Grey veined marble
chimneypieces to 1st floor rooms with Victorian cast iron grates. The large
bedroom over drawing room was formerly used as an upstairs sitting room. Stone
and brick-vaulted cellars. The house is said to incorporate an older house. The
house is faced with Kingsthorpe stone and was built for Christopher Smyth or his
nephew William Tyler Smyth. Seat of the Smyths and by descent to present owner.
(Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, p294; Little Houghton Coronation
Scrapbook, 1953)

Listing NGR: SP8054659688

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Little Houghton House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17545315

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

• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair