The Old Hunting Lodge stands at the junction of Stourton Lane and Tower Road in Stourton, at a place formerly known as Bird's Corner. The main house was built in 1850 by Sir Hugh Richard Hoare, owner of the Stourhead Estate. It is mentioned in the Hoare Annals in Stourhead House Library as "a substantial double cottage erected at the end of Stourton Lane near the Jolly Drover". (The Jolly Drover was a public house which has since closed). Originally it was two 2-up, 2-down cottages, each with a central chimney, and probably with a shared entrance. Later in the 19th century a brick and stone extension was built onto the east (back) wall of the house which was used as a dairy. This is now the kitchen. It is not visible in the pictures on this page. In the early 20th century one downstairs room was used as a shop. Now the whole property is one dwelling. Also attached to the east face of the house are two brick and stone barns, one a cowshed and one a stable with cobbled floor. These predate the main house, and may have been built in the 18th century.
The property is Listed Grade II on the National Monuments Record list maintained by English Heritage of buildings having 'special architectural or historic interest'. Click here to see a copy of the listing. A picture of the house will appear in English Heritage's Images of England website when it is completed (supposedly by the end of 2002). In 1946 Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare gave the Stourhead Estate to The National Trust. The trust made a few alterations to The Old Hunting Lodge in the 1950's, including installing a bathroom, converting the dairy into a kitchen, and building a breezeblock larder (since demolished and rebuilt). In 1990 the National Trust sold The Old Hunting Lodge, apparently to raise money for the purchase of a grain store for one of the estate farms. However they imposed covenants upon its successive owners which ensure that no inappropriate changes will be made without their approval. These covenants are essentially unnecessary as the building's Listed status protects it from such changes (although the trust has gone one step further by preventing us from having a caravan!). This aerial photograph was taken in 1991, before the house or garden had been renovated. Click on the picture to download a more detailed copy (185k):
Click here for a location map. The
Old Hunting Lodge, Stourton Lane, Stourton,
Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 6QN, UK |
