Amesbury Abbey Amesbury, England

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SU 1541 AMESBURY - Amesbury Abbey 11/1

10.1.53 I Large house in parkland, now nursing home. 1834-1840 and 1857-9 by Thomas Hopper for Sir Edmund Antrobus. Chilmark limestone ashlar with slate roofs. Cubic form, of 3 storeys and attics, being a grander reinterpretation of its predecessor, built 1660-1 by John Webb for the 2nd Duke of Somerset. Main south front of 9 bays, with 5 narrowly spaced bays behind a giant portico of 6 Composite columns raised on an arcaded rusticated plinth in form of porte cochère. Ground and first floors rusticated, with raised quoins, and plain band below first floor windows. On piano nobile, central door, now blocked, within portico, with stepped keystone and segmental pediment, repeating Webb's detail. Plate glass windows with blind boxes, and stepped flush voussoirs worked into rustication. Second floor has second plain band beneath windows, architraves to sashes and cornice over on brackets. Dentilled cornice throughout and low parapet. Portico has triangular dentilled pediment. Roof hipped, with dormers with segmental pediments. Entrance under portico within rusticated frame. Tower to central light well with balustrade, set back from elevations. West, garden, elevation and east facade identical, 5 bays, the 3 central-bays defined by attached Corinthian columns each carrying a forward section of entablature. Balustrade between pedestals of columns. Attic storey has windows between pilasters rising to urn terminals. Main windows as south front but those between columns have architraves and pediments. C20 'Amdega' garden room attached to ground floor of west side. Symmetrical corniced limestone ashlar chimneys and dormer windows to outer bays. To rear service block necked off, plain ashlar, 3 storeys 3 x 5 bays equal in width to main block. Central bay sets out. Interior: Entrance hall leads through double arcade to grand stair rising in 2 flights within full height light well. This has narrow spaced arcades around first and attic floors with balustrades. Blind arches over and coffered ceiling divided by Greek fret. Octagonal lantern over light well. Corridor behind arcades at first floor have coffered ceilings. Six panelled mahogany doors to perimeter rooms. Front drawing room later Ballroom of piano nobile subdivided. Sitting room on east side has panelled walls, marble fireplace and an elaborately moulded plaster ceiling. To rear of main stair, a secondary stair with flying treads and mahogany rail on scrolled iron balustrade, giving access to second floor. To rear, a circular service stair with iron balusters. In bakehouse, now laundry at rear, an iron bread oven by William Jones. A major example of Hopper's eclectic style, echoing much of Webb's Renaissance house as illustraded in Vitruvius Britannicus, later provided with l-bay Palladian wings by Henry Flitcroft (or James Paine I) from which the present dining room and sitting room fireplaces are said to come. Significant also as the centre of Cl8 culture and wit promoted by 3rd Duke of Queensbury and Duchess 'Kitty'. (Pevsner: Buildings of England: WILTSHIRE; Country Life 1 March 1902; Colvin, H: A Biographical Dictionary of British [Architects)

Listing NGR: SU1509741717