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A garden front view of The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
Devoted Readers will recall the posts about the once-derelict folly known as The Menagerie that was expanded to become a house and presented by The Devoted Classicist in three parts
here, here, and
here. Thanks to a notice sent by Andrew Triggs, author of the highly-recommended blog
British and Irish Stately Homes, it was learned that another surviving outbuilding at Horton, The Temple House, was for sale. Well, the majority of the parkland folly, a Listed Grade II house, is available for a price of GBP 875,000. (See update at end of this essay).
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Floor plans of The Temple House, Horton.
(The portico is not indicated)
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
Thought to date from the 1750s as a stone folly, The Temple was renovated and extended with a brick addition in the latter part of the 19th century. The property was divided into two dwellings in 1990, according to the real estate agents,
Jackson-Stops & Staff, Northampton, with The Temple House being to the south and Temple Court (also known as Temple Cottage) to the north.
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A map of The Temple House, Horton, property.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
With a garden of about 1.4 acres, the entrance faces the road while the principal front with the portico faces the park. Entering a vestibule, there is a Powder Room as we would describe it in the U.S.
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The Dining Hall at The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
The heated limestone floor continues into the Stair Hall and the Dining Hall with French doors opening to the portico, terrace, and gardens.
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The Drawing Room at The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
Beyond, the Drawing Room has walls with applied mouldings to simulate panelling.
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The Kitchen at The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
The Kitchen, which also serves as a Breakfast Room, has handmade cabinets with hardwood countertops and a fireplace. Across the lobby with door to the garden is a Pantry/Utility Room with Carrara marble countertops. In addtion, there is a small sitting room (not pictured) with hand-blocked Print Room style wallpaper, according to the sales data, this is used as a cinema room.
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Upper Stair at The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
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Bedroom One at The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
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Bedroom Two at The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
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A Bathroom at The Temple House, Horton.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
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Another garden front view of The Temple House.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
Like The Menagerie, the design of The Temple House is attributed to the architect-astronomer, Thomas Wright of Durham. (Note: at time of publication of this posting of The Devoted Classicist, this property with ID = 50080 is not available).
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A view of Temple Court in the distance.
Image: Jackson-Stops & Staff. |
Looks ideal, although the wide-angle photos give the impression of low ceilings, which probably isn't the case, given the items hung above the chimneypiece in the drawing room. What happened to Horton, (Hall? House? or whatever it was/is called), do we know?
ReplyDeleteColumnist, Horton House was demolished in 1936. Two views may be seen in my first essay on The Menagerie, the first link in the leading sentence in this post. I think you are correct about the wide-angle lense. Thank you for commenting.
ReplyDeleteShould we judge a book by it's cover?
ReplyDeleteEvidently, we cannot, if based on the house agents' photographs
of ill proportioned rooms with décors of breathtaking banality.
The fine portico leads us to expect interior spaces of classical
directness with perhaps a veneer of sophistication but oh my,
what a poky lot of rooms they turned out to be! Surely the interior
spaces were gutted and 'modernised' at some point in time?
Toby, one of the wonderful features of The Menagerie nearby is the wonderful Saloon, a beautifully detailed main room for banqueting. As you know, a folly's function might be principally focused on the exterior, and that appears to originally have been the case with this building. Thanks for commenting.
DeleteThe temple front is a delight. It's a house, if we intended to move back across the pond, I'd like to live in. On two levels, moving back and being able to afford it, it's hypothetical. It is a lovely house.
ReplyDeleteBlue, a good classical portico is always appreciated, isn't it? You and the Celt would be great assets for this house, I'm sure; I do not know the current status, however.
DeleteI was just about to say that I have rarely seen such curiously wayward and incompetent design treatment on a historic building but I think I prefer what Mr Worthington has written.
ReplyDeleteRosie, perhaps the real estate agents just moved in some furniture to give an idea of scale for the photos; I don't know the situation. Hopefully the new owners' furnishings will better compliment the spaces. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDelete