Summary
A country house of 1841 by William Shearman for the Earl and Countess of Ripon, ruinous following a fire in 2004.
Reasons for Designation
Nocton Hall, a country house of 1841 by William Shearborn for the Earl and Countess of Ripon, now ruinous following a fire in 2004, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for the quality of its design in an Elizabethan Revival style by William Shearborn;
* for the detailing which survives, including much carved stonework of good quality.
Historic interest:
* for its interest as the seat of the Earl and Countess of Ripon, and its association with other owners and later military use;
* for its association with the village of Nocton, much of which was built under the patronage of the Earl and Countess of Ripon;
* as an example of a mid-C19 country house.
History
The site at Nocton Hall has a long history, and was originally associated with an Augustinian priory, the remains of which lie approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the present hall. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory was converted to a residence in the later-C16 by Sir Henry Stanley. The site of Nocton Hall itself had first been built upon by Thomas Wymbysshe in the mid-C16. Nocton subsequently changed hands many times over the centuries, and was owned for a short period by King Charles II. The hall is understood to have been rebuilt in E-plan form in the later-C17, with extensive gardens, and around this time the house on the site of the former priory was demolished.
The C17 house suffered a fire in July 1834, by which time it was owned by Frederick John Robinson, Earl of Ripon. The house was largely destroyed, and was then rebuilt from 1841 to designs by the architect William Shearburn of Dorking. At around that time the Earl and Countess also had much of the estate village of Nocton built, including All Saints Church, commissioned by the Countess in memory of her husband in 1862 and built by George Gilbert Scott. The First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1888 shows the footprint of the main house much as it is today, with extensive gardens and pleasure grounds surrounding it.
The new house at Nocton was built in a Tudor style with quarry from the estate and dressings of Ancaster stone. A survey of the buildings which was carried out in 1996 found evidence to suggest that some interior features may have been re-used from the earlier house, and evidence in the standing fabric of the building shows a mixture of materials which may suggest further evidence of this. The original List entry for the house describes fireplaces and plaster ceilings to the main reception rooms.
Nocton was sold in 1888 to George Hodson, and then again in 1919 to Messrs WH Dennis and Sons, and at this time ceased to be a private residence. It is thought that the hall itself became a preparatory school. After changing hands again, the site was acquired by the Air Ministry in 1940 and was used by the army until 1943, after which it was taken over by the United States Army Medical Branch for use as a hospital. Additional accommodation blocks were built in the ground around this time. Following the end of the Second World War, Nocton was returned to the Royal Air Force and remained in use as a hospital.
Nocton was sold again in the early-1990s, and is understood to have remained vacant since that time. In October 2004 the building suffered a fire and has remained mostly a shell since.
Details
A country house of 1841 by William Shearman for the Earl and Countess of Ripon, ruinous following a fire in 2004.
MATERIALS: the house is contructed of brick and stone, with Ancaster stone dressings.
PLAN: the main block of the house is roughly rectangular on plan, with an extending service wing to the north forming an overall L-shape.
EXTERIOR: the building is of two principal storeys with attic and basement levels, and is designed in an Elizabethan Revival style with irregular, asymmetrical fenestration and detailing. Windows have mullion and transom openings, though some are now lost, mostly with hoodmoulds above. Chimneys throughout have clusters of octagonal moulded stacks where they survive. In some areas there are moulded stringcourses between the floor levels, and gables have moulded coping stones where they survive.
The main entrance to the house is in its northern elevation in a projecting, single storey bay with a moulded arch opening and a parapet with quatrefoil panels. Three dormers at attic level above were flanked by tall gables with chimneys at each end, the eastern gable and dormers now lost. The service wing adjacent has a tall projecting gable facing the main entrance.
The other elevations of the house each faced an area of garden and all are irregular, and now largely concealed by ivy and plant growth at the lower levels. The western elevation has an off-centre door at ground floor with Perpendicular style tracery and an oriel widow above with parapet detailing similar to the main door. The tall chimney adjacent has carved panels at ground and first floor levels, that at first floor being the crest of the Ellys family.
The southern elevation has a further carved panel with a coat of arms (currently obscured) above a ground floor window in a projecting bay. The eastern elevation has a projecting central block, only one of three dormer windows above surviving, flanked to the left by a double-height canted bay and to the right by a single-storey bay which adjoins the service wing.
INTERIOR: the interior of the house retains its principal internal masonry and structural walls, but is otherwise lost with all internal floors and the majority of the fittings no longer surviving. There are areas of the fabric with a mix of stone and brick construction, suggesting that elements may be re-used from earlier structures.
The layout of the ground floor, including doorways between rooms, can be largely discerned from the surviving walls. Aside from this, there are some small fragments of internal plasterwork visible, and the lining of the position of the main stair in the central hall can be seen. Portions of the secondary stair with some cantilevered stone treads and sections of metal balustrading survive.
