Description

EYNSHAM
SP31SE
3/104 Eynsham Hall and attached
03/09/81 forecourt walls
(Formerly listed as Eynsham
Hall)

GV II

Country house. Built 1904-8 by Sir Ernest George for the Mason family. Squared
and coursed grey limestone with ruddy-coloured ashlar quoins and dressings;
numerous ruddy-coloured ashlar stacks with moulded diamond-set flues. H-plan.
Jacobean style. 3 storeys. Front of 1:3:1:3:1 fenestration. Frontispiece to
3-storey central porch: semi-circular arched doorway with blocked architrave, to
very finely-carved panelled doors with cartouches and shell tympanum; Ionic
columns to upper storeys, surmounted by nowy-headed armorial panel above parapet
level. Stone-mullioned and transomed windows, including tall stair-light left of
porch. 3-storey extruded corners with similar windows, and balcony above parapet
level on left. Pierced balustrade. Similar garden front has similar armorial
panel to central projecting bay; canted bay windows to end bays; and loggias in
angles of side wings with Ionic pilasters, banded ashlar stonework and pierced
balustrades. Kitchens to left and garden porch with loggia to right in similar
style. Interior: finely decorated throughout in Jacobean style. Hall has oak
panelling, stone fireplace, strapwork ceiling and fine panelled doors set in
Ionic doorcase to stair-hall, which also has strapwork ceiling and 3 service
doors on left. Dog-leg staircase has finely-carved openwork balustrade, with
balcony on landing and free-flying second flight. Room to rear of hall has
strapwork ceiling. Library to rear of stair-hall has mahogany bookcases, finely
carved and segmental-pedimented doorcases, fine mid C18 coloured marble
fireplace and plasterwork ceiling in Inigo Jones style. Service stairs with
turned balusters. Billiard Room in front room of left wing has panelled walls,
and deeply-moulded strapwork ceiling: fine French-style chimneypiece, with putti
holding armorial cartouche, by William Frith. Dining Room in rear room of left
wing has panelled and beamed ceiling, red-silk walls, and very fine mid C18
fireplace which has broken pediment set above ionic overmantle with 2 aedicules.
First and second floor rooms have reset C18 and early C19 fireplaces, some very
fine. Two first-floor rooms over library have fine C19 coloured marble
fireplace, and marquetry framing to fine Oriental Screens of painted birds by
Owen Jones, c.1872. Room to right of this has moulded stone fireplace, panelling
and strapwork ceiling. Subsidiary features: forecourt walls of similar materials
and style with balustrade divided by ashlar piers surmounted by lead urns: end
piers, to side entries, have pyramidal scrolled finials. History: built on site
of hall built for Lacys in 1760s, which was enlarged by Sir Charles Barry
c.1843-5 and by Owen Jones c.1872, and demolished in 1903. The Georgian
fireplaces, and very fine oriental screens by Jones were included in the new
house. Finished in 1908, the new Eynsham Hall was equipped with its own
waterworks, gas plant, electric generating station and private telephone links
to all parts of the estate.
(National Monuments Record; Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, p.602; H.M.
Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, 1978, p.92;
Reading University Archives, Oxfordshire 22/16/2/1 for drawings of Oriental
screens etc. by Owen Jones; information from V.C.H.).

Listing NGR: SP3953212280

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Eynsham Hall at Wikipedia
• Eynsham Hall official website
• Wikidata Q5422953

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
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings