Building record 6121/2/1 - Islip House, Attached Flight of Steps, Gatepiers & Walls

Country house. Mid/late C18. Squared coursed limestone with stuccoed facades and Collyweston and Welsh slate roofs.

{1} Shown on Ordnance Survey map as No.15. Country house. Mid/late C18. Squared coursed limestone with stuccoed facades and Collyweston and Welsh slate roofs. Double-depth plan. 2 storeys with attic and basement. Main front to garden of 7-window range. Central part-glazed door has moulded wood surround and fanlight with glazing bars. Sash windows with glazing bars. Hipped roof behind plain parapet and 3 flat-topped dormers. Brick and stone stacks at ridge. 2-window-range extension to right, remode led C20. Entrance front to left of main front is a 5-window range, similar to main front, but with plain sash windows at ground floor. Central panelled double doors have fanlight with glazing bars. Flight of steps with wrought-iron handrail forms a bridge over a basement level walkway. C19 brick extensions to rear. Garden front has attached brick walls to left and right, each pierced with a C20 iron gate with C18 ashlar gatepiers. Interior: staircase to entrance front is probably C18 with turne balusters. Main staircase to garden front has stick balustrade probably altered C20.

{3} When Islip House was reoccupied in 1972 after a period of desertion, the new owner 'carried out extensive excavations at the side of the house and workmen unearthed a long hidden underground tunnel which, it was thought, went to Islip Church 600yds away. The far end nearest the church was walled up'. Although the tunnels were substantial that these may have functioned as drains is plausible. It is also recorded that the cellars of the house were used as bonded wine vaults.

{4} There is a red brick building attached to the rear of Islip House. The extension is clearly later than the original house and was probably built in the mid to late 19th century. The extension appears to be industrial in nature and may have had links to the transport system on the River Nene, although it is located to the rear of Islip House and therefore does not have a direct link to the river. The main house and extension remained in the same ownership until the late 20th century. The two buildings are on separate plots of land with a red brick wall between them, there is, however, a link between the two adjacent properties via a red brick segmental return. The access is at basement level of the main building.
The 19th century extension is in two parts with a long two-storey wing to the east and a shorter wing with lower eaves to the west. The eastern wing has been converted for use as offices and flat in the recent past; the west wing appears to have been used for storage only. The current owner reports that the building has had a numbr of former uses including a sweet factory and a country club; it is uncertain from what source this information was gained.
The house itself has been known as the Dower House, the Islip House, the Guest House and Chateau Nene. In 1972 after it had stood empty and neglected for several years extensive repairs were undertaken.

{6} Undated photo.

{7} Observations made of a passage found at Islip House during building work. The passage is aligned along the outer north wall of the portion of the house known as the stable block. It is aligned east to west; the west end terminates in the brick cellars under the house, whilst the east end is bricked up. The report supposes that the passage may be medieval. Local evidence of another passage found during the construction of a bungalow further west along Chapel Lane (c500m) on the same alignment.

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 15+16/39 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

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

<3> Thorne A., 2003, Thrapston to Islip Flood Alleviation Scheme: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment, p.11 (checked) (Report). SNN103620.

<4> Ballinger J., 2000, Buildings Adjacent To Islip House, Chapel Hill, Islip, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN101308.

<5> Ballinger J., 2000, Building Adjacent To Islip House, Chapel Hill, Islip, (unchecked) (Photographic prints (COL)). SNN101309.

<6> Photographs of buildings in Islip (Photographs). SNN112820.

<7> T L, 1968, Some observations upon the underground passage discovered at Islip House (Note). SNN115496.

Record last edited

Sep 27 2023 2:44PM