thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

Eydon Hall is a Palladian

stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

near the village of Eydon, in Northamptonshire. It is a Grade I listed building, and is currently in use as a private residence.

Architecture

The house, built of ironstone, remains broadly as it was originally designed, with nine bedrooms and four major reception rooms across two main floors. The top floor, with servants quarters, is hidden from view by balustrades around the side of the roof, and there is a large basement. The house has a number of unusual features - perhaps the most interesting being that the large

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many c ...

traditional on such houses is placed at the rear, not the front. Each of the four facades are designed differently, with the west facade having a large semi-circular bow in it to contain an oval drawing room.

History

The site was originally occupied by Eydon Lodge, which was acquired in 1788 for £6,600 by the Reverend Francis Annesley. He demolished the existing building, and employed James Lewis to create the replacement, completed in 1789.The £11m acid test
Ross Clark, ''The Telegraph'', 19 May 2004 Eydon Hall was later owned by Colonel Henry Cartwright, member of parliament for South Northamptonshire from 1858 to 1868, who died there in 1890. In 1913 it was taken by Lady Fermor-Hesketh and after that purchased in 1923 by David Margesson. By 1927 it was occupied by W. G. Waldron, and in 1929 was again announced for sale.''Estate Market'' article in the ''Times'', 24 April 1929 The buyer was Robert Brand (later Lord Brand); the house passed to his daughter on his death in 1963. In 1982 it returned to the market, and was eventually purchased by the

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse owner/breeder

Gerald W. Leigh Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and ...

. After his death, when his widow chose to sell the estate, it returned to the market in 2004 with an estimated price of around £11m. Much to the surprise of the property industry, it sold within two months to video game developer Chris Stamper for £17m.

References

{{coord, 52, 08, 37, N, 1, 12, 46, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Northamptonshire Grade I listed buildings in Northamptonshire Grade I listed houses