Listed Building record MDO9237 - Islington House, Puddletown

Country house in grounds. Late C17-early C18, altered late C18-early C19, enlarged later in C19. Plastered walls, over original facing brick, ashlar quoins. Hipped slate roof with bold eaves cornice.

(SY 7599 9435) Ilsington House of two storeys was built late in the 17th century but the character of the exterior was entirely changed early in the 19th century when the original walling, probably of brick with stone dressings, was rendered with stucco. The south front is divided into five bays by Doric pilasters with a marked taper. A porch has been added to the north front in recent times and there are extensive modern additions on the west. <2>

Ilsington House (name confirmed) remains as described above. See ground photograph. <4>

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 7599 9435) Ilsington House (NAT)

<2> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 225-6 (Monograph). SDO136.

‘(2) ILSINGTON HOUSE (75999435), 100 yds. E. of the church, is of two storeys; the walls are rendered and the roofs are slate-covered and of low pitch. The house was built late in the 17th century but the character of the exterior was entirely changed early in the 19th century when the original walling, probably of brick with stone dressings, was rendered with stucco, the windows were given stucco architraves, the glazing was altered, and an iron balcony and balustrading were added on the S. More recently a porch has been added on the N., and there are extensive modern additions on the W.
All main elevations have a continuous frieze and a boldly moulded modillion cornice; the N. and S. fronts are symmetrically designed. The N. front has broad wings projecting a short distance at either end, and a narrow bay of shallow projection with a curved pediment in the centre; the wings and the central feature have rusticated stone quoins. Masking the lower part of the central feature is a modern stone porch. The eleven windows on each floor are uniform and of broad proportions; they have moulded architraves with key-blocks and the sashes have slender glazing-bars. The chimneystacks are high and wide and have paired panels on the N. and S. sides. The S. front is divided into five bays by Doric pilasters with a marked taper; the two middle pilasters are set close together to form a central feature, with a curved pediment and round-headed openings on the ground and first floors. The other six windows on each floor have moulded architraves and key-blocks; they are taller in proportion than those of the N. front. In the 19th century, probably when the S. front was rendered, a cast-iron balcony on iron supports was added; it serves the central room on the first floor and is approached from the ground by flanking flights of stairs; stairs and balcony have delicate Gothic balustrading.
The interior was considerably altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. The principal reception rooms are on the first floor, ranged along the S. front, and are approached by an 18th-century oak staircase with turned balusters and a moulded handrail. The stair-hall is panelled and some of the panelling with bolection mouldings is original. Many rooms have enriched plaster cornices and two have fireplace surrounds dating from the first half of the 19th century. The Boudoir chimney-piece is of white marble with porphyry panels enriched with ormolu. Three panels of the frieze have cameo-like reliefs of figure-subjects in white marble; the centre panel depicts three women in Classical dress with Cupid and a child in a cradle, the side panels have dancing nymphs. The Drawing-room chimneypiece is similar except that the carved panels are of red marble. In the W. part of the house is an original staircase with spiral turned balusters on the landing, turned balusters on the stairs and a moulded handrail.
¶The forecourt N. of the house is bounded on the W. by a high brick wall with a moulded coping, terminating in a brick pier with a moulded plinth and capping and a ball-finial; much of the wall is probably contemporary with the house and the rest is of the 18th century. A corresponding wall to the E. has been destroyed.’

<3> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 351 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<4> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 27-NOV-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<4.1> Name Board (Verbal communication). SDO17979.

<5> Chedburn Design & Conservation, 1997, Ilsington House, Puddletown, Dorchester, Dorset: Listed Building Application for Internal Alterations to Ilsington House (Unpublished document). SDO14299.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 454925 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 27 2023 7:11AM