Sandleford Priory Country House Overview

Sandleford Priory is a stunning country house located in Newbury, Berkshire. It was originally built in the 18th century as a grand house for the wealthy.

The house boasts an impressive façade with a central pediment and a symmetrical design, reflecting the classical style of the time.

Sandleford Priory is a mid to late C18 landscape park, surrounding a country house remodelled by James Wyatt in Gothick style in the 1780s.

The park's design is attributed to Lancelot Brown, who worked to designs of 1781. The park's layout has been influenced by Brown's designs, which likely included the use of natural features and landscaping techniques to create a scenic and harmonious environment.

The 55ha site is bounded by various natural and man-made features, including the River Enborne to the south and the A34 to the west.

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Sandleford Priory is a significant country house with a rich history. The main building, Sandleford Priory, dates back to the 14th century, with notable renovations by James Wyatt in 1780-1.

Built in a Gothick style, the Priory is a two-storey rendered house with a T-plan design. It incorporates remains of the monastic buildings within its structure.

The Priory has a prominent location near the top of the south-facing hillside, offering extensive views of the surrounding countryside to the south and west.

The building was remodelled and internally and externally renovated by James Wyatt in 1780-1 for Elizabeth Montagu.

A series of late 20th-century school buildings have been erected to the north-east of the former chapel.

The two-storey rendered stables, also built in Gothick style, stand 10m north of the Priory.

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The grounds and gardens of Sandleford Priory are truly breathtaking. The gardens and pleasure grounds lie east of the house, extending down the hillside to the east to a chain of ponds running south down a small subsidiary valley.

A low, grass terrace with a gravel path links the south and east fronts, extending east along the south side of the former drawing room and C14 former chapel. The central set of low stone steps on the south side of the chapel leads down to a lawn that extends south to the park and east towards Brown's Pond.

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A path leads down the hillside into the pleasure grounds, through a linking area of woodland ornamented with mature yews and rhododendrons, which leads to the stream where it enters the north end of Brown's Pond. This area was known as the Wilderness Walk by 1781.

A small footbridge carries the path across the stream at the north end of Brown's Pond, offering a picturesque view of the pond and the surrounding area. The path continues east up the hillside beyond, providing access to the two ponds above Brown's Pond, set within ornamental woodland.

The path extends south along the east side of Brown's Pond, backed by woodland covering the rising hillside beyond. It turns west at the south end of the lake to run across the substantial earth dam above marshy woodland to the south.

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