Building record 4821/6/1 - Wadenhoe House

Country house, now a conference centre. Datestone WIM/1657, extended late C18 and extended and remodelled c.1858 for Ward-Hunt family.

{1} Country house, now a conference centre. Datestone WIM/1657, extended late C18 and extended and remodelled c.1858 for Ward-Hunt family. Squared coursed limestone with ashlar dressings and Colleyweston and Welsh slate roofs. Originally half H-shape plan now complex. Main front to garden is a C17 five-window range with gabled cross-wings breaking forward to left and right. Centre 3 windows are irregular sized casements, some with glazing bars, under wood lintels. First floor window to left of centre is a C20 wooden oriel. Hood mould of C17 window above right hand ground floor window. Blocked 2-light C17 stone mullion windows to far left and right of ground floor centre bays. Left cross wing has C17 three-light stone mullion window to ground floor with early C19 triple sash above and C20 casement to attic, both under wood lintels. Hood mould of C17 window in return wall. Right cross-wing rebuilt C19, has 3 single-light windows at ground floor and two- and 3-light stone mullion windows to first floor and attic. Pair of gabled roof dormers, ashlar gable parapets and ashlar stacks at ridge. Datestone to centre of range. 2-window range attached to left of this elevation remodelled c.1858 with large canted stone mullioned bay window to right and arch-head French doors to left. Hipped roof behind openwork parapet with ball finials. Entrance front to left is similar. Interior: c.1858 range has staircase with barley twist balusters and archway in hall with heavily panelled reveals. C17 range has some C18 cornices and early C19 secondary staircases with stick balustrades. Original roof structure with collar trusses. The entrance front is depicted as a late C18 facade on an early/mid C19 drawing by George Clarke and was probably remodelled c.1858 rather than rebuilt.

{4} Graffiti in a barn on Pilton Road (HER 4821/0/22) records that there was a 'Fire at Wadenhoe House Feb 19 1924'.

{6} Undated photo;

{7} The building comprises a multi‑phase house with origins in the 17th century and evidence for earlier fabric. Investigation identified a raised or upper cruck roof structure within the cross‑wing, contrasting with the staggered butt‑purlin roof of the main range dated to 1657 by a datestone on the front elevation, suggesting the cross‑wing is of earlier origin, possibly associated with a date of 1631 carved on reused stone nearby. The cross‑wing may have originated as an addition to an earlier structure on the footprint of the later 17th‑century range, and a stone mullioned window within its garret indicates a former gable aligned with the end of the 1657 range, although its precise phasing remains uncertain. The main range displays a typical 17th‑century lobby‑entry plan with a central chimney stack, flanking ground‑floor rooms, chambers above and garrets, characteristic of a prosperous yeoman or manorial dwelling, with limited heating provision and evidence for functional subdivision, including a probable pantry. In the late 18th century the house was substantially enlarged by the construction of a two‑storey south‑west wing with basements, likely reordering the hierarchy of spaces and introducing formal reception rooms and principal bedrooms, while spoil from the basement excavations may have contributed to raising the ground level in front of the earlier house. Further enlargement and refurbishment occurred in the mid‑19th century, apparently for George Ward Hunt in 1858, resulting in the more substantial Victorian elements and alterations to circulation, including modification of the principal staircase, which may have replaced an earlier Georgian form.

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 9/244 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), G08 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN41470.

<3> 2002, Wadenhoe Hall and Farm Buildings, (checked) (Photographs). SNN107524.

<4> Stamper, P., 2019, Archaeological building recording of a barn and stable block at Dovecote, Pilton Road, Wadenhoe, Northamptonshire, p. 22 (Report). SNN111397.

<5> Bailey, B, Pevsner, N, and Cherry, B, 2013, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p. 631 (Book). SNN111989.

<6> Photographs of buildings in Wadenhoe (Photographs). SNN113721.

<7> R Trimble, 2020, WADENHOE HOUSE, WADENHOE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: Historic Building Recording (Report). SNN117054.

Record last edited

Apr 21 2026 12:21PM