Berrington Hall

A visit to Berrington Hall near Leominster in Herefordshire.The dome was being restored so part of the building was under scaffolding inside and out (including up the main staircase).

 

 

Berrington Hall is a country house located about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Leominster, Herefordshire, England. During the 20th century it was the seat of the Cawley family.

 

It is a neoclassical country house building that Henry Holland designed in 1778-81 for Thomas Harley. It has a somewhat austere exterior, but the interiors are subtle and delicate. Berrington Hall is home to the Elmar Digby furniture collection, paintings by, amongst others, Thomas Luny (1759–1837), and the Charles Paget Wade costume collection from Snowshill, which can be viewed by appointment. The 'below stairs' areas and servants' quarters that are open to the public include a Victorian laundry and Georgian dairy. Berrington has been in the care of the National Trust since 1957 and is, along with its gardens, open to the public.

 

Berrington features Capability Brown's last landscape design. A notable feature is the ha-ha wall, which was subject to extensive renovation in the late 20th century by local craftsmen. Berrington Pool, a lake and island, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

 

 

Berrington had been in the possession of the Cornewall family since 1386, but was sold in 1775 to Thomas Harley, a banker and government contractor who in 1767 had been Lord Mayor of London. He commissioned the rebuilding in 1778-1781 of the present Berrington Hall in place of the previous old house. He made it available to his daughter Anne and her new husband George Rodney, the son of Admiral Rodney. After Harley's death the house descended in the Rodney family for 95 years.

 

In 1901 the Manchester businessman Frederick Cawley MP, later Baron Cawley, purchased the estate. In 1957 the 3rd Lord Cawley transferred it to the Treasury, which passed in on to the National Trust. Lady Crawley was allowed to remain in occupation until her death in 1978.

 

It was classified as a Grade I listed building in 1959.

 

 

Grade I Listed Building

 

Berrington Hall and Adjoining Outbuildings

 

 

Listing Text

 

EYE, MORETON &

SO 56 SW ASHTON CP

 

7/2 Berrington Hall and

adjoining outbuildings

11.6.59

GV I

Country house. 1778 - 1781 by Henry Holland for Thomas Harley. Alterations

of c1890 - 1900 involved the addition of a tower at the rear of the house,

this was removed in 1968 and the pediment to this face was reinstated. Set

in parkland laid out by Capability Brown. Brick core, faced with sandstone

ashlar with dressings of the same material, hipped Welsh slate roofs.

Rectangular plan main house with central entrance and stairwell, axial

stacks. Main entrance faces south-west, quadrant walls connect the main

block with the three outbuildings which form a courtyard to the rear (these

adjoining walls have been altered and one has been removed). Main house:

two storeys, attics and basements, south-west entrance front: seven bays

with plinth, dentilled cornice, blocking course and balustraded parapet,

steps up to central projecting tetrastyle Ionic portico; frieze is decorated

only to central part by a floral type design which replaces the original one

of putti, ox heads and garlands, pediment has a lunette window. Dormer windows

to attics with glazing bar sash windows, glazing bar sash windows to first

floor with semi-circular heads and decorative glazing to those flanking the

portico. Square-headed glazing bar sash windows to ground floor, the semi-

circular headed basement windows have rusticated surrounds. Central tall

and narrow semi-circular headed doorway with panelled door has keystone

depicting Roman head flanked by narrow side lights with reliefs depicting

urns above. The north-west front is of five bays with a pediment over the

central three bays. The north-east front to the courtyard entrance is of

2:3:2 bays with central pedimented slightly forward break, semi-circular

headed glazing bar sash windows to upper floor, square-headed windows to

ground floor with central three openings set in semi-circular headed surrounds,

right-hand opening now forms a doorway and has a six-panelled door. The out-

buildings enclosing the courtyard are of two storeys. The range to the north-

east is of nine bays with central pedimented archway flanked by pairs of Doric

pilasters, clock face in pediment, string course to flanking bays with 6-pane

square-headed windows to upper floor and semi-circular headed windows with

decorative glazing to ground floor. The ranges enclosing the courtyard to

the north-west and south-east are also of nine bays, each with similar windows

to the upper and lower floors, the central window to each range having a moulded

architrave, semi-circular headed window and doorway openings to ground floors.

To the outer walls of these flanking ranges (ie facing the gardens) are central

niches with coffered semi-domes with ball cresting above. The south-western

ends of both ranges have a blank semi-circular headed arch flanked by oculi.

Interior: the main house retains many of its original features on both main

floors, with decorative surrounds to doorways, decorative plastered ceilings

and marble fireplaces. The entrance hall has trophies in roundels above the

doors and a central circular ceiling panel is carried to the corners on spandrels,

pedimented surround to doorway opposite the entrance; polychrome marble patterned

floor. The Drawing Room retains original elaborate pelmets above the three

windows, marble fireplace with caryatids and griffon frieze. Delicately patterned

ceiling with painted roundels depicting scenes and characters from classical

mythology and with putti and sea horses; entwined roundels to outer border

which flank central theme. The boudoir has an alcove with segmental arch and

a screen of two blue scagliola columns. The Dining Room has a good marble

fireplace with carved panels to the jambs, decorative plastered and painted

ceiling with central painted roundel and swagged and wreathed plastered

surround. Pedimented bookcases to the library with continuous "greekkey"

type frieze. Decorative painted panels to ceiling depicting authors from

Chaucer to Addison. Central staircase hall is lit by delicately iron ribbed

glass domed lantern, opposite the staircase is a coffered archway; staircase

and landings carried on screens of scagliola columns, decorative dolphin

frieze to the entablature. The staircase has bronze lyre-shaped balustrading.

The outbuilding to the north-west formed the laundry and retains many of its

fittings. A tiled dairy has been restored in the south-east range and the

north-east range contains part stabling. (National Trust, 1986, Berrington Hall:

BoE, p 72).

 

 

Listing NGR: SO5093063660

 

This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.

 

 

Entrance to the courtyard.

Done