Aldermaston Court Aldermaston, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

ALDERMASTON CHURCH ROAD (south side) SU 56 SE 6/25 Aldermaston Court 14.4.67

GV II*

House. 1636, rebuilt except for staircase in 1848-51 by P.C. Hardwick, with further additions dated 1894 on rainwater heads. Red brick with grey diapering, stone dressings, string courses, mullioned and transomed windows, coped parapet, gables with footstones, kneelers and capstones; slate roofs with 8 stacks con- sisting of moulded round shafts with octagonal bases and oversailing caps. Tower to west: 4 stages. Brick and stone panelled flushwork, shafted corners with carved figures; battlemented parapet to squat double-pitch slate spire with 3 cusped lights on each face and lucanes on concave top stage with ball finial. 6 arched lights with clock above on each face of top stage, 3 and one light windows onfirst and second stages. Main house on irregular L-plan with service wing to north. Free Elizabethan style. East Front. Wing projecting to left: canted 2 storey bay rising to battlemented parapet and 6-light window in gable above, stack to right with 4 shafts. Return wall to right: gable to left with 2-light window, two 3-light first floor windows below flanking 6-light window, carved coat of arms on ground floor with hoodmould and flanking 2-light first floor windows and one-light top windows. 2 gabled dormers to right and two 8- light first floor windows below. Projecting ground floor with buttresses and two 8-light windows. Central block: 2 gabled dormers and ridge stack to left with 4 shafts, four 6-light first floor windows below and one 4-light and one 2-light ground floor windows to left, Half octagonal porch to right with buttresses, 4- centered arches with carved spandrels and battlemented parapet; brick vault inside with stone ribs on foliated capitals, mosaic floor, 4-centered archway with 2 doors, stone plaque to left and 4-light window to right with stained glass. Block to right projecting with gable and 3-light window, larger gable behind with planted timbers and decorated barge boards. 17-light first floor window and ground floor square bay with 14-light window. Asymmetrically gabled service wing to right. Forecourt walls to east with arched balustrade and square corner piers. South front: symmetrical except for stacks. Projecting wings to right and left with square ground floor bays rising to canted bays on first floor with battle- mented parapet. Gables above with 2-light windows and stacks with 2 shafts on inner faces. Central canted bay with 4-centered arched doorway with carved spandrels and half galzed doors, rising to smaller first floor canted bay with battlemented parapet and gable above with 6-light window flanked by stacks with 2 shafts. 9-light ground floor windows flanking central bay with first floor cross windows and stepped 3-light windows in gables above. West front: canted bay to right rising to smaller first floorbay with parapet and finial rising up into gable flanked by 2-light windows. Gabled dormer to left with 9-light window, irregular staircase window below. Canted bay to left rising to first floor with battlemented parapet and 6-light windows, gable above with 2-light window. Arched doorway to left with steps and arched side lights, gabled dormer above to right of ridge stack with 5 shafts. Projecting block to left with 8-light ground floor window, 6-light first floor window and 2-light window in gable. Asymmetrically gabled service wing to left. Interior: 6 flight square well staircase of circa 1636; pierced balustrade with grotesques, mythical beasts, coats of arms etc; carved newel posts topped by allegorical figures. Good C19 interiors including double-height panelled entrance hall with arches and balustrading to landing at West and south, and fireplace to south with 4-centered arch and carved spandrels and figures. Library to south contains some C16 heraldic glass from earlier house. Corridor to east contains C19 stain glass of saints by A. L. Moore. Other rooms include the dr