Description

FETCHAM LOWER ROAD
TQ/15/NW & NE (south side, off)
2/55 & 3/55

7.9.51 Fetcham Park House
(formerly listed as
Badingham College)
GV II*

Large house, subsequently school, now offices. 1705-1710, by William Talman,
with interior decoration by Louis Laguerre; altered and enlarged c.1870 by
Edward I'Anson jun. (Pevsner). Red brick in Flemish bond with dressings of
Portland stone, sandstone and terracotta; slate roof, brick chimneys. Rectangular
double-depth plan under 2-span roof, on north-south axis, with additions at both
ends, added porch to the west front and added bay to the east front. Two and a
half storeys over cellars. The west front of the original building now of 4:1:3
bays, with additions of 1 bay to the left and 2 bays to the right; ashlar plinth,
raised rusticated quoins, a string course and sill-band, a similar string course
above 1st floor, a frieze of terracotta swags, and prominent bracketed eaves; the
5th bay now has a prominent rectangular 2½-storey porch of sandstone ashlar at
ground floor and brick above, which has a round-headed doorway with wrought-
iron fanlight (matching wrought-iron screens in windows each side) framed by
Portland stone Corinthian columns with a bowed cornice serving as a balcony to
a tall 1st floor window with segmental-pedimented architrave; and a tall steeply-
pitched pavilion roof containing a window with pedimented sandstone architrave
and above this an oculus with swagged lead surround. In the corner to the right
of the porch is a 1st floor oriel of sandstone; otherwise, all the windows are
sashed without glazing bars and have wooden blind-hoods, those at ground and 1st
floors with gauged brick heads incorporating terracotta keystones, and terracotta
sills and aprons, and those in the attic with architraves matching that in the
porch at this level. Mansard roof with 2 chimneys between the ridges and one at
each end of the original range. Additions in matching style. Three-bay return
walls, that at the south end with a rectangular bay window of ashlar. The east
front (including the additions) is symmetrical, 1:4:3:4:1 bays, the centre with a
semi-circular bay at ground floor, a segmental pediment above the attic
containing an oculus, attic windows arranged 1:2:3:2:1, but otherwise matching
the west front. Interior: almost the whole of the ground floor front is occupied
by a longitudinal entrance hall, the north end of which has an exceptionally fine
early C18 cantilevered open-well staircase with open string, carved brackets
beneath lengthened and overlapped returns from the nosings of the treads, 3
balusters per tread (2 twisted and one fluted), ramped and moulded handrail with
wreathed curtail, and the cyma-moulded soffits to the upper flight, with carved
decoration; the walls and ceiling at this end are filled with large paintings by
Laguerre, but the rest of the walls have painted panels replacing fielded panels
with grisaille painted statues (which have been relocated elsewhere in the house);
and the south end of the hall has a late C19 inserted partition wall with pseudo-
fireplace in Jacobean style; the room opposite the doorway has a circular ceiling
panel painted by Laguerre, with rich moulded plaster surround, and coving also
with vigorous moulded plaster decoration; the late C19 drawing room at the
south end has C18-style plaster work.

Listing NGR: TQ1500355674

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Fetcham Park House at Wikipedia
• Fetcham Park House official website
• Wikidata Q5445931

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings