Fillongley Hall, in Warwickshire, is a superb neo-classical house designed by George Woolcott for the Rev. Bowyer Adderley, uncle of the 1st Lord Norton, in 1824-25. The house was essentially built in two stages beginning with the south front in 1824-25. This was followed fifteen years later with the extension of the monumental entrance front, hall and library, which were built in 1840-41 by James L. Akroyd of Coventry. He also added, a short projecting wing on the west. George Eliot is known to have stayed at Bede Cottage, situated directly adjacent to the Hall. It is reputed to have been a source of inspiration for her novel Adam Bede.
The house has retained all its original features and the part built by Woolcott in 1824-25 can still be clearly recognised on the south side: a long, low structure of seven bays with a 'Veranda covered with Copper'- as mentioned in the estimate of works. The three ground-floor rooms on the south front are also as Woolcott left them: an ante-room in the centre, whose curved end walls are set with niches, flanked by a drawing room on the east, and dining room on the west.
The north front boasts a hugely impressive recessed portico or loggia in the centre which, framed by two giant Ionic columns, is like the vestibule of a Classical temple and reminiscent of early Greek revival houses. Its architecture is continued in the sky lit hall beyond, which raises the whole height of the house, with four columns in the richest rosso antico scagliona of exactly the same scale. Indeed, the interior has been described as 'One of the great unsung interiors of the Greek revival in England' and one that depicts the cultivated tastes of a late grand tourist, carrying the traditions of the Regency into the early years of Queen Victoria. The whole area sits within 400 acres of woodland and gardens, incorporating an entrance lodge, four cottages and a cricket pitch.
Fillongley Hall and its 400 acre estate remained in the hands of the Norton family until 2006, when the current and eighth Lord Norton and his wife, Frances sold the Hall to allow them to move to Switzerland with their family. You can see the sale brochure from 2006 by clicking here. The Norton family were interviewed by The Times at the time of the sale (click here for the text from The Times article).
Descent: George William Bowyer Adderley (1787-1872); to great-nephew, Henry Arden Adderley (1848-1945), 5th Baron Norton; to son, Hubert Bowyer Arden Adderley (1886-1961), 6th Baron Norton; to son, John Arden Adderley (1915-93), 7th Baron Norton; to son, James Nigel Arden Adderley (b. 1947), 8th Baron Norton, who sold 2006.
In 2010 the Hall was back on the market, for the reduced price of £4.5 million (as well as a reduced estate of 105 acres). You can read the brochure detailing Fillongley Hall in 2010 by clicking here. You can also view a Floorplan of the Hall here.
The house has retained all its original features and the part built by Woolcott in 1824-25 can still be clearly recognised on the south side: a long, low structure of seven bays with a 'Veranda covered with Copper'- as mentioned in the estimate of works. The three ground-floor rooms on the south front are also as Woolcott left them: an ante-room in the centre, whose curved end walls are set with niches, flanked by a drawing room on the east, and dining room on the west.
The north front boasts a hugely impressive recessed portico or loggia in the centre which, framed by two giant Ionic columns, is like the vestibule of a Classical temple and reminiscent of early Greek revival houses. Its architecture is continued in the sky lit hall beyond, which raises the whole height of the house, with four columns in the richest rosso antico scagliona of exactly the same scale. Indeed, the interior has been described as 'One of the great unsung interiors of the Greek revival in England' and one that depicts the cultivated tastes of a late grand tourist, carrying the traditions of the Regency into the early years of Queen Victoria. The whole area sits within 400 acres of woodland and gardens, incorporating an entrance lodge, four cottages and a cricket pitch.
Fillongley Hall and its 400 acre estate remained in the hands of the Norton family until 2006, when the current and eighth Lord Norton and his wife, Frances sold the Hall to allow them to move to Switzerland with their family. You can see the sale brochure from 2006 by clicking here. The Norton family were interviewed by The Times at the time of the sale (click here for the text from The Times article).
Descent: George William Bowyer Adderley (1787-1872); to great-nephew, Henry Arden Adderley (1848-1945), 5th Baron Norton; to son, Hubert Bowyer Arden Adderley (1886-1961), 6th Baron Norton; to son, John Arden Adderley (1915-93), 7th Baron Norton; to son, James Nigel Arden Adderley (b. 1947), 8th Baron Norton, who sold 2006.
In 2010 the Hall was back on the market, for the reduced price of £4.5 million (as well as a reduced estate of 105 acres). You can read the brochure detailing Fillongley Hall in 2010 by clicking here. You can also view a Floorplan of the Hall here.
