Sydmonton Court is an

English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. Built and developed over the centuries, it is surrounded by a 5,000 acre estate, in the parish of

Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green (occasionally referred to as just ''Ecchinswell and Sydmonton'') is a civil parish within the district of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, United Kingdom. Sydmonton is the home of Sydmonton Court, esta ...

, near

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...

. The house has been listed Grade II* on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

since 1984, and St Mary's church within the estate is also Grade II* listed. It is owned by the theatrical impresario

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

and his wife, equestrian entrepreneur

Madeleine Gurdon Madeleine Astrid Gurdon, Baroness Lloyd-Webber (born 30 November 1962) is an English horsewoman. She is married to theatrical impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber. Early life Madeleine "Gurtie" Gurdon was born in 1962 into a military family, one of fo ...

. The eclectic nature of its architecture led the house to be described by

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

as "the sort of English Architectural mongrel you want to rescue and love for the rest of your life".

Gardens

The gardens of Sydmonton Court are listed grade II on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. The gardens were featured in the 2017 book ''The Secret Gardeners'' by Victoria Summerley and photographer Hugo Rittson Thomas."Secret gardeners. Britain's creatives reveal their private sanctuaries". Summerley and Rittson Thomas, 2017 pg. 182-194

References

* {{coord, 51.3186, -1.3052, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Hampshire Grade II listed parks and gardens in Hampshire Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire Grade II* listed houses Basingstoke and Deane