Heythrop Park
Encyclopedia
Heythrop Park is an early 18th century country house
1 miles (1.6 km) southeast of Heythrop
in Oxfordshire
. It was designed by the architect Thomas Archer
in the Baroque style for Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
. A fire in 1831 destroyed the original interior. From 1922 until 1999 Heythrop housed first a Jesuit
tertiary education college, and later a training establishment. The house is now the main building of the Heythrop Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club.
for Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
. Shrewsbury had travelled in Italy on an extensive Grand Tour
, between 1700 and 1705. Apparently the duke had already decided to build in 1700, before he left for Italy, because of his failure to purchase Cornbury House near Charlbury
, Oxfordshire. Cornbury was a regular classical house designed by Inigo Jones
' mason, Nicholas Stone
, which had been brought up to date for the Earl of Clarendon more recently by Hugh May
; Shrewsbury's disappointment evinces the enthusiasm for classical architecture that he had acquired before he left England. Modern architecture in Italy had evolved into its Baroque form, a style quite unknown in England. The travelling duke was quickly won over: in Rome, Shrewsbury visited the villa of Domenico de' Rossi
in 1702, to "lay aside some prints" by the architectural engraver of the Studio di architettura civile di Roma, full of designs by Borromini and Bernini. In 1704 Shrewsbury obtained a plan for a house from Paolo Falconieri
. On his return to England, apparently possessing at least Rossi's first volume (of 1702), Shrewsbury called upon Archer to create a modern Italian palazzo
set in the Oxfordshire countryside. At this time, Archer was one of the few English architects to have studied in Italy and become conversant with the Baroque forms of architecture, but many of the details of Heythrop were adapted from Roman precedents through engravings in Rossi's publication, though none were directly imitated.
Work on the house began in 1706. By 1709 the roof was in place and by 1713 the house was ready for partial occupation, but John Vanbrugh
noted in April 1716 that it was incomplete, and so it was still, on Shrewsbury's death in 1718. The building contractors were William and Francis Smith of Warwick.
Archer's design was, as requested, in the Italian Baroque style. On the entrance facade of eleven bays, the giant order
with a level balustraded roof is very similar to the design which William Talman
had executed for the Duke of Devonshire
at Chatsworth House
just few years earlier. Archer's Corinthian order shifts restlessly against the wall plane, varying on the entrance front from flat pilaster
s to attached columns, to a free-standing screen that marches across the recessed entrance bays. The wall plane is ashlar
on the entrance front but with strictly conventionalized channeled rustication
the full height of the garden front. On the side elevations, the channeled rustication appears only on the rusticated pilaster-like corner quoin
s of the lightly projecting five central bays. In the frieze under the main cornice, occasional discreet square openings give light to the low attics.
The inspiration for the Baroque facade at Heythrop was Gian Lorenzo Bernini
's final design for the Louvre, a plan never executed. Like Chatsworth, Heythrop Park comprises two floors linked by the giant order standing upon a raised semi-basement; the bays are articulated by a giant order with the Baroque inturned Corinthian volute
s invented by Francesco Borromini
. The elevation is broken by three projections, the centre being the central portico with Corinthian
columns; this has no pediment
to break the roof-line. In a break from his usual style, Archer has given the fenestration unusual emphasis by contrasting architectural detailing: the windows on the ground floor are from a design by Bernini, while those on the floor above are in a mannerist style
with overlarge keystones penetrating the cornice, as at Talman's Chatsworth. The central nine bays of the 13-bay garden front carry the rustication of the half-basement right up the wall to the cornice, with perfectly plain window openings and a central door framed in a very sober Doric order
; this severe front is relieved by its richly treated two-bay end pavilions, which take up all the rich motifs of the entrance front.
In 1831 a fire swept through the house destroying the interiors, many designed by James Gibbs
, including a quatrefoil
hall, a feature believed to have been unique in England. Other features of the rooms included a saloon which had an entablature
supported by life-sized statues of Ceres and Flora
beneath a stucco
ed ceiling depicting the four corners of the globe. Mrs. Philip Lybbe Powys, who visited Heythrop in 1778 remarked that the stucco work was by "the famous Roberts of Oxford", though the plasterer Thomas Roberts was born in 1711; "In the arches over the doorways", Mrs. Lybbe Powys noted "fables of Aesop
, finely executed in stucco, with wreathes of vine leaves."
After the fire the house remained derelict until sold to the railway contractor Thomas Brassey
in 1870 as a wedding present for his third son Albert Brassey
(1840–1918). Brassey commissioned the eminent architect Alfred Waterhouse
to rebuild the interior. Waterhouse, a noted Gothic Revival architect
, in deference to the history of the house worked in a neo-classical style; his double-height arcaded hall, being more redolent of the Baroque of John Vanbrugh
than Archer. However, Waterhouse did add Gothic motifs to the hall's clerestory
in the form of stained glass windows, by Morris and Co, depicting Faith, Hope and Charity
.
(1924) contains a reference to "the Heythrop Ball"). From then until 1969, Heythrop Hall was a college for the philosophical and theological studies of Jesuit novices. During this period the house was altered and enlarged, not always in a style sympathetic to the original architectural concept. In 1952, the indoor tennis court was converted to a chapel and in 1965, a library was added. In 1960, the architectural firm of Howell, Killick and Amis created two halls of residence in the grounds in a contemporary style.
When in 1969 the Jesuit college moved to London as part of the University there, the National Westminster Bank
group bought Heythrop Park and turned the house and its precincts into a training and conference centre. In 1999 NatWest sold the house to Firoz Kassam
's company Firoka Ltd, which has turned the house and grounds to a hotel and country club
.
The hotel and associated buildings are part way through a programme to refurbish them to make a conference centre and 2 hotels. The mid-20th Century lecture halls, which were demolished, had little to recommend them. The replacement building, now a Crowne Plaza franchise is in a similar architectural vogue. However, the development of the golf course and the main buildings has had an adverse effect on the condition of the gardens and relict features of the Talbot and Brassey era, with the consequent loss of rare and interesting trees across the estate. The gardens used to be quite special. Of particular note is the wide use of pulhamite
in the Victorian hard landscaping, as found at Batsford Arboretum
and elsewhere. English Heritage
has had much input into preserving what remains of the ferme ornée
but its ability to monitor the detail and enforce the small points of planning requirements seems limited.
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
1 miles (1.6 km) southeast of Heythrop
Heythrop
Heythrop is a village and civil parish just over east of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Dunthrop.Heythrop had a Norman parish church of Saint Nicholas, but the nave has been demolished and only the chancel has been preserved as a mortuary chapel...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. It was designed by the architect Thomas Archer
Thomas Archer
Thomas Archer was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Archer was born at Umberslade Hall in Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire, the youngest son of Thomas Archer, a country gentleman, Parliamentary...
in the Baroque style for Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, KG, PC was an English statesman. Born to Roman Catholic parents, he remained in that faith until 1679 when—during the time of the Popish Plot and following the advice of the divine John Tillotson—he converted to the Church of England...
. A fire in 1831 destroyed the original interior. From 1922 until 1999 Heythrop housed first a Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
tertiary education college, and later a training establishment. The house is now the main building of the Heythrop Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club.
Architecture
Heythrop Park was designed by the architect Thomas ArcherThomas Archer
Thomas Archer was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Archer was born at Umberslade Hall in Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire, the youngest son of Thomas Archer, a country gentleman, Parliamentary...
for Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, KG, PC was an English statesman. Born to Roman Catholic parents, he remained in that faith until 1679 when—during the time of the Popish Plot and following the advice of the divine John Tillotson—he converted to the Church of England...
. Shrewsbury had travelled in Italy on an extensive Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
, between 1700 and 1705. Apparently the duke had already decided to build in 1700, before he left for Italy, because of his failure to purchase Cornbury House near Charlbury
Charlbury
Charlbury is a small town and civil parish in the Evenlode valley, about north of Witney in West Oxfordshire. It is on the edge of the Wychwood forest and the Cotswolds.-Place name:The origin of the town's toponym is obscure...
, Oxfordshire. Cornbury was a regular classical house designed by Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
' mason, Nicholas Stone
Nicholas Stone
Nicholas Stone was an English sculptor and architect. In 1619 he was appointed master-mason to James I, and in 1626 to Charles I....
, which had been brought up to date for the Earl of Clarendon more recently by Hugh May
Hugh May
Hugh May was an English architect in the period after the Restoration of King Charles II. He worked in the era which fell between the first introduction of Palladianism into England by Inigo Jones, and the full flowering of English Baroque under John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His own work...
; Shrewsbury's disappointment evinces the enthusiasm for classical architecture that he had acquired before he left England. Modern architecture in Italy had evolved into its Baroque form, a style quite unknown in England. The travelling duke was quickly won over: in Rome, Shrewsbury visited the villa of Domenico de' Rossi
Domenico de' Rossi
Domenico de' Rossi was an Italian sculptor and engraver.In 1709 Domenico inherited the printshop of Giovanni Giacomo de' Rossi, by the church of Santa Maria della Pace, the largest and most long-lived publisher of the Roman baroque...
in 1702, to "lay aside some prints" by the architectural engraver of the Studio di architettura civile di Roma, full of designs by Borromini and Bernini. In 1704 Shrewsbury obtained a plan for a house from Paolo Falconieri
Paolo Falconieri
Paolo Falconieri was an Italian architect, painter and mathematician, from an ancient noble family of Florence, whose intellectual interests were wide-ranging, one of the viruosi of the first scientific century...
. On his return to England, apparently possessing at least Rossi's first volume (of 1702), Shrewsbury called upon Archer to create a modern Italian palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
set in the Oxfordshire countryside. At this time, Archer was one of the few English architects to have studied in Italy and become conversant with the Baroque forms of architecture, but many of the details of Heythrop were adapted from Roman precedents through engravings in Rossi's publication, though none were directly imitated.
Work on the house began in 1706. By 1709 the roof was in place and by 1713 the house was ready for partial occupation, but John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
noted in April 1716 that it was incomplete, and so it was still, on Shrewsbury's death in 1718. The building contractors were William and Francis Smith of Warwick.
Archer's design was, as requested, in the Italian Baroque style. On the entrance facade of eleven bays, the giant order
Giant order
In Classical architecture, a giant order is an order whose columns or pilasters span two stories...
with a level balustraded roof is very similar to the design which William Talman
William Talman (architect)
William Talman was an English architect and landscape designer. A pupil of Sir Christopher Wren, in 1678 he and Thomas Apprice gained the office of King's Waiter in the Port of London...
had executed for the Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
at Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
just few years earlier. Archer's Corinthian order shifts restlessly against the wall plane, varying on the entrance front from flat pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s to attached columns, to a free-standing screen that marches across the recessed entrance bays. The wall plane is ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
on the entrance front but with strictly conventionalized channeled rustication
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
the full height of the garden front. On the side elevations, the channeled rustication appears only on the rusticated pilaster-like corner quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s of the lightly projecting five central bays. In the frieze under the main cornice, occasional discreet square openings give light to the low attics.
The inspiration for the Baroque facade at Heythrop was Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
's final design for the Louvre, a plan never executed. Like Chatsworth, Heythrop Park comprises two floors linked by the giant order standing upon a raised semi-basement; the bays are articulated by a giant order with the Baroque inturned Corinthian volute
Volute
A volute is a spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals...
s invented by Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini, byname of Francesco Castelli was an architect from Ticino who, with his contemporaries, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture.A keen student of the architecture of Michelangelo and the ruins of...
. The elevation is broken by three projections, the centre being the central portico with Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns; this has no pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
to break the roof-line. In a break from his usual style, Archer has given the fenestration unusual emphasis by contrasting architectural detailing: the windows on the ground floor are from a design by Bernini, while those on the floor above are in a mannerist style
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
with overlarge keystones penetrating the cornice, as at Talman's Chatsworth. The central nine bays of the 13-bay garden front carry the rustication of the half-basement right up the wall to the cornice, with perfectly plain window openings and a central door framed in a very sober Doric order
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
; this severe front is relieved by its richly treated two-bay end pavilions, which take up all the rich motifs of the entrance front.
In 1831 a fire swept through the house destroying the interiors, many designed by James Gibbs
James Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
, including a quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
hall, a feature believed to have been unique in England. Other features of the rooms included a saloon which had an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
supported by life-sized statues of Ceres and Flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
beneath a stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed ceiling depicting the four corners of the globe. Mrs. Philip Lybbe Powys, who visited Heythrop in 1778 remarked that the stucco work was by "the famous Roberts of Oxford", though the plasterer Thomas Roberts was born in 1711; "In the arches over the doorways", Mrs. Lybbe Powys noted "fables of Aesop
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
, finely executed in stucco, with wreathes of vine leaves."
After the fire the house remained derelict until sold to the railway contractor Thomas Brassey
Thomas Brassey
Thomas Brassey was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about one-third of the railways in Britain, and by time of his death in 1870 he had built one...
in 1870 as a wedding present for his third son Albert Brassey
Albert Brassey
Colonel Albert Brassey was a British rower, soldier and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1895 to 1906.-Life:...
(1840–1918). Brassey commissioned the eminent architect Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...
to rebuild the interior. Waterhouse, a noted Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, in deference to the history of the house worked in a neo-classical style; his double-height arcaded hall, being more redolent of the Baroque of John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
than Archer. However, Waterhouse did add Gothic motifs to the hall's clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
in the form of stained glass windows, by Morris and Co, depicting Faith, Hope and Charity
Faith, Hope and Charity
Saints Faith, Hope and Charity , Church Slavonic: are a group of Christian martyred saints. Their mother is said to have been Sophia ; Sapientia is also mentioned in some accounts, though not as their mother. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, these were, in fact, two groups bearing the...
.
History
Heythrop Hall passed through various generations of the Talbot family until it was rendered uninhabitable by the fire of 1831. Rebuilt by new owners, the Brassey family in 1871; the house remained in their possession until 1926 (Buchan's novel The Three HostagesThe Three Hostages
The Three Hostages is the fourth of five Richard Hannay novels by Scottish author John Buchan, first published in 1924 by Hodder & Stoughton, London....
(1924) contains a reference to "the Heythrop Ball"). From then until 1969, Heythrop Hall was a college for the philosophical and theological studies of Jesuit novices. During this period the house was altered and enlarged, not always in a style sympathetic to the original architectural concept. In 1952, the indoor tennis court was converted to a chapel and in 1965, a library was added. In 1960, the architectural firm of Howell, Killick and Amis created two halls of residence in the grounds in a contemporary style.
When in 1969 the Jesuit college moved to London as part of the University there, the National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...
group bought Heythrop Park and turned the house and its precincts into a training and conference centre. In 1999 NatWest sold the house to Firoz Kassam
Firoz Kassam
Firoz Kassam is a Tanzanian-born, businessman. He is the former owner of Oxford United F.C.He was born in Tanzania ofPakistani parents and came to Britain as a student during the 1970s....
's company Firoka Ltd, which has turned the house and grounds to a hotel and country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
.
Heythrop Park Hotel Golf & Country Club
Heythrop Park Hotel Golf & Country Club is a hotel with conference facilities and a golf course. The house has seventeen bedrooms and reception rooms and the restored and enlarged outbuildings and halls of residence contain a further 270 bedrooms.The hotel and associated buildings are part way through a programme to refurbish them to make a conference centre and 2 hotels. The mid-20th Century lecture halls, which were demolished, had little to recommend them. The replacement building, now a Crowne Plaza franchise is in a similar architectural vogue. However, the development of the golf course and the main buildings has had an adverse effect on the condition of the gardens and relict features of the Talbot and Brassey era, with the consequent loss of rare and interesting trees across the estate. The gardens used to be quite special. Of particular note is the wide use of pulhamite
Pulhamite
Pulhamite was a patented anthropic rock 'material' invented by James Pulham of the firm James Pulham and Son of Broxbourne.Pulhamite, which usually looked like gritty sandstone, was used to join natural rocks together or crafted to simulate natural stone features. The recipe went to the grave...
in the Victorian hard landscaping, as found at Batsford Arboretum
Batsford Arboretum
Batsford Arboretum is a arboretum and botanical garden near Batsford in Gloucestershire, England, about 1½ miles north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh...
and elsewhere. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has had much input into preserving what remains of the ferme ornée
Ferme ornée
The term ferme ornée as used in English garden history derives from Stephen Switzer's term for 'ornamented farm'. It describes a country estate laid out partly according to aesthetic principles and partly for farming. During the eighteenth century the original ferme ornée was Woburn Farm, made by...
but its ability to monitor the detail and enforce the small points of planning requirements seems limited.
External links
- Heythrop Park Hotel Golf & Country Club Accessed 30 March 2009.