More information : Pockeridge House appears to have its origins as a residential dwelling of the early-18th century, judging from the earliest known features in the building. It stands on former agricultural land in Hudswell, between Corsham and Box. The building was adapted by the beginning of the 19th century, and the owner was Mr John Eldridge in 1824. This part of north Wiltshire lies on Oolitic limestone beds that have provided Bath stone for construction purposes since Roman times. Wiltshire stone was used extensively in the Norman and Medieval eras for construction, notably of ecclesiastical buildings, and became a popular alternative to Portland stone in the 18th century. Bath stone was used over an increasingly wide area following the opening of the Kennet and Avon Canal. In 1836, construction began on the Box Tunnel, which passes approximately 100 metres to the south of Pockeridge House, as part of the I. K. Brunel¿s Great Western Railway. The tunnelling revealed the large extent of suitable limestone in and around Hudswell, and extensive quarrying, or mining, in the area followed. The new railway line further improved the means of exporting stone, and increasing demand promoted extensive excavation of stone from the underground quarries. In 1858, the owner of Pockeridge House was A. Yockney esq., a quarry owner, who may have been related to Samuel Yockney, the engineer and construction manager of the Box Tunnel. The Yockney and Hartham Park Stone Company worked a quarry to the north of the house in the 19th century, although the company merged with other small quarrying concerns to form the Bath Stone Firms Limited in the later-19th century.
The building is shown on a tithe map of 1839 as Puckeridge House, rectangular on plan with a narrower central section. There are projecting bays on the north-east and south-east elevations, and a stable block is shown to the north. The building is marked as Pockeredge Farm on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1889, by which name the farm complex to the east is also labelled, and has an irregularly-shaped addition to the north. On the Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1900 the north end of the house appears to have been rebuilt or reworked, and stands on a larger footprint with a projection on the north-west wall. The section of the south-west front that was set back from the bays either side is shown to be infilled or covered. The addition of a projecting porch and projecting bay with bow to the main front is shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1921. The surrounding land was requisitioned by the Ministry of War in 1936 as a military base, and following the conversion of Pockeridge House to an Officer¿s Mess during the Second World War, the building has undergone internal reworking.
A 18th century dwelling, much extended and adapted in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is constructed of local limestone with slate roofs on an irregular, but largely rectangular, plan. The principal range stands on an approximate north-south orientation, with an incorporated east-west wing to the north.
Exterior:
The main range is two-storeys, and of eleven irregular bays to the principal south-western elevation. The three bays to the north end (left) are part of a late-19th century wing which has an attic floor. The local rubble stonework across the elevation is mainly coursed, and of various ages and colours. The windows across the building are generally stone-mullioned with hood moulds. The left bays stand under a stone gable, and the corners have moulded quoins. Set slightly back, the bays to the left of centre have two wide tripartite windows, probably early-18th century, to each floor. The central, 20th century bays have a two-storey bow window set forward, with ashlar window architraves and quoins, under a conical roof. To the right is a tall stair window and beyond is a 20th century, ashlar projecting porch under a pitched roof, and with a simple door architrave. To the right is a tall tripartite window with transom, both this and the staircase window are in the Tudor style and appear to be of late-19th century date.
The south-east elevation is probably early-19th century and has a central, two-storey bow window with three bowed sash windows under a conical roof.
The north-east (garden) front is of two styles and probably the result of three periods of building activity. The right-hand portion is late-19th century and has three floors with mullioned and transomed windows with hood moulds in a Tudor style. There are prominent gables. At near-centre, and slightly recessed, is a two-bay portion, again with mullioned windows, but with a hipped roof, and at left is a three-bay classical portion with a hipped roof and sash windows of early-19th century date. The sashes have plain ashlar architraves, and some windows are blank. Below the left bays are cellar stairs with a drystone wall boundary. There is a two-storey bow window to the left of centre. The central and right bays have stone-mullioned windows and a continuous hood mould above the ground floor openings. The central bays are set back under a hipped roof. The right bays have two gabled ends with kneelers, separated by a central, pitched roof bay. The left corner of the left gable is canted and the ashlar has a carved design.
The north elevation is of four irregular bays with two lean-to extensions attached. The central bay has a 20th century glazed staircase window with an ashlar stack to the left. The building has a variety of roofs across differing pitches, with ashlar stacks.
Interior:
The principal entrance via the porch leads into a wide main hall with a late-20th century dog-leg stair and a gallery. To the right, a principal room has early-19th century joinery including a full-height bow window, a decorative cornice, a low dado rail and a built-in dresser on the north-east wall. A fireplace in the north-west wall has a stone chimneypiece with a deep Classical mantel. The two internal doors to the room are six-panelled, with mouldings. The doorway to the right of the fireplace leads into a rear room, with a projecting bow window at the garden end. There are infilled arches to each side of the bow, a stone fireplace in the rear wall and a narrow, decorative ceiling cornice that is carried through into a corridor that leads to the north end of the building. The rooms to the right of the corridor are service rooms with modern divisions. A storage room has steps down to a brick cellar. To the left are two principal rooms with differential ceiling heights. The first room, to the north of the main hall, has a bow window facing the front forecourt and a moulded ceiling cornice. A door leads into the second principal room with wide encased ceiling timbers and window seats, which includes the bay added between 1900 and 1921. The rooms in the north end are divided into office and kitchen space. There is a cast-iron safe set into a chimney breast in the main office. A staircase at the north end leads to the first floor.
The first-floor rooms are arranged as bedrooms, mostly with inserted bathroom facilities. There is a central corridor that narrows towards the centre of the main range, and leads to the principal stair at the south. The rooms in the northern half of the range have a lower floor height. There are few internal fittings of note except cast-iron window fitments and a stone chimneypiece in one room. The doors are modern fire-doors. At the north end, the attic has machine-sawn roof timbers.
There is further cellar space at the south end, accessed through the external steps on the garden front. The cellar is divided into compartments and built of stone blocks. There is an early-19th century range in one of the cellar rooms, and the base of a corbelled stone stack.
As set out in the Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings (March 2010), to be of special architectural interest a building must have an important architectural design, decoration, craftsmanship or plan form, or be an exemplar of a particular building type or technique. To be of special historic interest a building must illustrate important aspects of the nation¿s social, economic, cultural or military history and/or have close historical associations with nationally important people. The general principles used are that all buildings and structures built before 1700, and that contain a significant proportion of their original fabric, are listed; most buildings and structures from 1700 to 1840 are listed; and after 1840, because of the greatly increased number of structures erected and the much larger numbers that have survived, progressively greater selection is necessary. Furthermore, English Heritage¿s Vernacular Houses Selection Guide (Domestic Buildings 1) sets out that evidence of change as well as of original plan and function is important when assessing these buildings for designation. To warrant designation as a listed building Pockeridge House would need to survive substantially intact, retaining some of its historic fixtures and fittings, and showing evidence of its building history in its plan, fabric and construction.
Pockeridge House probably dates from the early-18th century, as indicated by the style of the stone mullions in the windows to the north of the main, south-west front. However, the building has been considerably altered and extended in the 19th century and 20th century, as demonstrated by the variations in building line, stonework and architectural treatment. While parts of the pre-1840 building remain, principally the north and south ends of the main range, these may date from different periods, and a good deal of the fabric has been removed as parts of the later changes. Late-19th century and 20th century extensions and remodelling to each elevation have resulted in variant forms of fenestration, irregular placement of bow windows and the inconsistent use of features such as hood moulds and decorative treatments in the stonework. These combine to give a somewhat incongruous appearance to the building. The modifications to the building have also eroded the original planform of the 18th century dwelling. The building, as shown on a tithe map of 1839, had central bays set back from those either side, and may have been the former main entrance. Alterations made in the early-20th century infilled these bays and an entrance hall, now with late-20th century stair, was created. The current arrangement of rooms on both floors makes the original layout difficult to read and, for the most part, the former rear wall of the 18th century building is not legible. An understanding of the layout of the 18th century dwelling is further complicated by the lower height of the rear rooms of the first-floor, and the lack of coordination between this arrangement and the historic map evidence. Overall, the evolution of the building is not clear.
The 20th century conversion of Pockeridge House to an officer's mess, and its later use, has resulted in a considerable amount of adaptation to the interior of the building, and the survival of historic fittings is scant. While a number of 19th century chimneypieces remain in situ, many others have been removed or replaced, and the main stair of the building is of late-20th century date. There are no other fittings of note in the main hall. The principal room in the south end, which has a formal, early-19th century character and some features of quality such as a ceiling cornice and chimneypiece, is not of sufficiently high quality to raise the interest of the building as a whole. The late-19th century wing incorporated to the north is of fairly standard design, with no fittings of particular note.
For buildings of this predominantly 19th century date, while accepting the likelihood of change, we look for a greater survival of features of interest if the building is to be designated. Pockeridge House retains a degree of quality as a dwelling with 18th century origins, but it is not a particularly distinguished example in the national context. Moreover it has suffered alteration to the point that the building history is not evident in its plan, and Pockeridge House cannot be considered sufficiently complete to qualify for inclusion on the list. However, although this building falls short of the criteria set for the statutory list, it is clearly of local interest, with historical associations to the Corsham mines (NMR/AMIE number 1394896). (1) |