Description

ST63SE
5/244

PITCOMBE CP
HADSPEN
Hadspen House

24.3.61

GV II*

Country House. Mostly C18. Cary stone ashlar; hipped Welsh slate roof behind parapets; stone chimney stacks. Originally
solid "U"-plan with C19 and C20 extensions; 2 storeys with attics; 5 bay South front, the centre 3 bays slightly
projecting. Plinth, rustic quoins to centre bays, cornice, low parapet with coping, with pediment over centre bays:
12-pane sash windows to ground floor, set in architraved surrounds with pedimented heads, triangular to bays 1 and 5,
segmental bays 2 and 4; central part-glazed doors set in porch with Doric columns and pilasters, full entablature with
metopes and pediment hood: first floor has 9-pane sashes in architraved surrounds; behind parapets 4 hipped roof
dormers with 2-light casement windows. West elevation of matching 4 bays, with projecting single storey porch having
rusticated ashlar, plinth, cornice, coped parapet and Doric columns supporting full entablature and pedimented hood
protecting 6-panel door: Westwards extension from North West corner in plainer style, dated 1886. East elevation of 5
bays; bay 1 matches, then 4 plain bays leading to plainer Eastwards extension with segmental curved end, date on
weathervane 1909. Rear extension Northwards of 1828. Inside, rooms of several periods: South West room, the library,
has good cornice, fireplace surround and Chippendale style built-in bookcases; South East sitting room has cornice,
fireplace, dado and plaster panelled walls; East dining room has cornice, marble fireplace flanked by statue niches,
plain dado and Adamesque plasterwork decoration to walls; North West room has early C18 dado panelling, possibly
adapted; main stair at rear early C19, but stairs from first floor to attic of C18 - at foot a 2-panel door with
detached pediment doorcase. Original farmhouse built by William Player, 1687 to 1699; sold to Vickris Dickinson in
1747, again in 1767 and finally to Hobhouse family, present owners, in 1785. House improved between 1767 and 1791, when
Collinson was able to describe it as "recently much improved" - ceilings of front rooms raised 1786-87, wth some other
works; major alterations and additons to rear in 1828, 1886 and 1909 - good quality work of each period. (Andrew Raven,
Hadspen House, Unpublished architectural thesis for RWA Bristol, undated).

Listing NGR: ST6602331037

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Hadspen house and garden at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5638097

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

• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)