Listed Building: Boughton House (1192643)

Great house. Early C16 origin, with extensive late C17 alterations and additions, including north range, for Ralph, 1st Duke of Montagu. Limestone ashlar, with some squared stone and coursed rubble and some red brick to rear and internal courtyard faces. Collyweston stone slate roofs with numerous moulded stone stacks. Planned round several courtyards, with half-H plan north range in French style. North range of 2 storeys and attic, with mansard roofs. Main block 9-windows wide, wings 4 windows deep with ends 3 windows wide. Banded rustication to basement and ground floor, plain pilasters above carrying full entablature with deep eaves cornice. Main block has arcaded loggia containing round-headed panelled double doors at centre and ends, and 8 round windows. First floor has 9/9 sash wiundows in plain raised architraves. Attic has 2-light leaded casement dormers with pediments alternately segmental and triangular. Wings have segment-headed basement windows (many blind) and dormers similar to stable block. West front: a long 2-storey range stretching away from the north-west wing and stepping forward, has moulded string course above ground and first floor, and crowning balustrade. Windows mostly cross casements with glazing bars. 4 sets of French windows with round heads and 2 double part-glazed doors with overlights. East range: 2 storeys and attic, 7-windows wide, roof hipped to left, has band between storeys. Leaded cross casement windows with gauged heads and keystones to ground floor and in raised plain architraves to first floor. 6 pedimented dormers. Rainwater head dated 1704 in angle. Recessed block, 2 windows wide, linking east range to north-east wing, has 2 pairs of French windows reached by a generous flight of steps. Interior: early C16 great hall behind north range retains collar and tie beam roof with queen posts and wind braces, but concealed by ceiling painted by Louis Cheron with the marriage of Hercules and Hebe. One C16 doorway with 4-centred heead and carved spandrels also survives. Several mid-C16 chimney pieces are to be found in the house, mostly reset, but the character of the interior is now overwhelmingly late C17 and early C18. Many rooms are panelled and a number have ceilings painted by Cheron, who also painted the main staircase hall, west of the loggia. The main stair which leads to the suite of state apartment on the first floor of the north range is of stone with an elaborate wrought-iron balustrade. The interior of the north-east wing was never completed and it now contains a late-C18 Chinese style tea tent brought from Montagu House, London. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: pp110-114; J. Cornforth: "Boughton House, Northamptonshire": a series of 6 articles)

Record last edited

Dec 19 2022 1:44PM