Greys Court - plaque - a photo on Flickriver

A visit to Greys Court, a National Trust run estate.

Greys Court is a Tudor country house and gardens in the southern Chiltern Hills at Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames in the county of Oxfordshire, England. Now owned by the National Trust, and is open to the public.

As Redrefield it was the principal manor of the six manors held in 1086 (as listed in the Domesday Book) by the Norman knight Anchetil de Greye (c.1052- post-1086), ancestor of the prominent Grey family.

The mainly Tudor-style house has a courtyard and gardens. The walled gardens contain old-fashioned roses and wisteria, an ornamental vegetable garden, maze (laid to grass with brick paths, dedicated by Archbishop Robert Runcie on 12 October 1981) and ice house. Within its grounds are the fortified tower built circa 1347, the only remains of the medieval castle, overlooking the gardens and surrounding countryside, as well as a Tudor wheelhouse.

The house remains furnished as a family home, with some outstanding 18th-century plasterwork interiors. It is a Grade I listed building.

John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield, one of the original founder Knights of the Garter, was granted a license to crenellate his Rotherfield house in 1346, when he also considerably enlarged the group of buildings and added a castle around 1347. The estate passed to the Crown in 1485 and was granted to Robert Knollys in 1514 for an annual rental of a red rose, remaining in the Knollys family until 1642, during which time the current house and its associated buildings were constructed.

Rotherfield Greys Castle, built around 1347
Sir William Paul bought the house in 1686 and it passed via his son William's daughter's dowry to Sir William Stapleton, 4th Baronet in 1724.

Between 1935 and 1937 the house was occupied by Evelyn Fleming, mother of the author Ian Fleming.

In 1937 the house was bought from the Stapletons by Sir Felix Brunner and his wife Lady Brunner (née Elizabeth Irving), the granddaughter of the Victorian actor-manager Sir Henry Irving. In 1969 the family donated the property to the National Trust, where Lady Brunner continued to live until her death in 2003.

Grade I listed building

Greys Court

Details
ROTHERFIELD GREYS SU78SW 6/121 Greys Court 24/10/51 (Formerly listed as Greys Court including Batchelors Hall, the Well House and Towers NE, NW and SW of house) GV I

Country House. C14 with late C16 front, C18 interiors, C19 and C20 alterations. Flint with brick banding, especially to cross-gables: plain old tile roof; brick stacks. Double-depth plan with wing to rear. 2 storeys and attic; 3-bay range. Central studded door with plain stone arched surround, flanked by C19 2-light stone mullioned windows. C20 stone mullioned and transom windows of 5 lights to left and right. 2 stone cross-windows with flattened arches to top lights to centre first floor. 3-light stone mullion and transom windows with flattened arches to left and right on first floor. Single casement windows to left and right of centre. 3 parapeted cross gables to roof with one 2-light mullioned window to each cross gable. Right return: Half oval 2-storey stone bay to left; rusticated to ground floor, ashlar above with crenellated parapet. 3 round-headed sashes to each floor. Three 12-pane sashes with Gibbs surrounds to ground floor right. Three 6-pane sashes with shouldered architraves to first floor. Single 6-pane sash with shouldered architrave to cross gable to right. Left return: Gabled brick porch, probably C17 with 2 round brick arches to ground floor and brick oriel window to first floor with stone mullion and transom window. 4-light mullioned window to ground-floor right. C17 panel tracery window to first floor right with 3-light mullioned window to gable above. Rear: Irregular projections of various dates; irregular fenestration; gabled roof. Interior: Central hall to front, square plan with patterned stone floor; round-headed panelled double doors to staircase hall flanked by single doric pilasters to wood surround, with glazed niches to left and right. Plaster-work ceiling with eagles bearing palms, in relief, to corners. Dining room to left of hall has Georgian fireplace and bracketted cornice to ceiling. Drawing room to right of hall: Fine rococo plaster work, probably by Thomas Roberts of Oxford, circa 1750, with swags of fruit and flowers to walls; conch shells with fruit and flowers to spandrels of bay window; bracketted cornice to ceiling; good contemporary fireplace of key-pattern frieze and entablature supported on Ionic columns. Staircase hall, behind entrance hall, has C18 pine dog-leg staircase with landing. Kitchen, to left of staircase hall has blocked probably C15 fireplace and a walled-up buttery doorway flanked by 2 recesses. First floor: Main bedroom, above dining room, has C15/16 fireplace and ornamental plaster ceiling and frieze. History: Licence to crenellate granted in 1347 to Sir John de Grey. Passed to the Crown in 1485. Granted to Robert Knollys by letters patent in 1514. Sold to William Paul of Braywick in Berkshire in 1686. William's daughter Catherine married Sir William Stapleton Bt. in 1724. Alterations to Drawing Room, possibly by Henry Keene of Oxford. (Buildings of England : Oxfordshire, p.735-7; Greys Court, National Trust Guidebook, 1982).

Listing NGR: SU7248283417

Mostly seen outside from The Oval Lawn.

plaque

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Taken in: UK / England / South Oxfordshire District / Greys Green (show map)

Taken on: September 12, 2024

Tags:

Greys Court

National Trust

Rotherfield Greys

Henley-on-Thames

Tudor country house and gardens

Redrefield

Oxfordshire

England

United Kingdom

Great Britain

tree

trees

Grade I listed building

Grade I listed

Country House

Flint with brick banding, especially to cross-gables: plain old tile roof; brick stacks

The Oval Lawn

plaque

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Camera: Canon PowerShot SX70 HS, f/5.0, 1/800 sec, 11.9mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	11.9mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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