Upton House is a country house in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Ratley Ratley is a village in the civil parish of Ratley and Upton, Stratford-on-Avon District, Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish in 2011 was 327. It is on the northwest side of the Edge Hill escarpment about above sea level. ...

and Upton, in the English county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

, about northwest of

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

, Oxfordshire. It is in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

History

The house was built on the site of the hamlet of Upton, which was destroyed in about 1500 when the land was cleared for pasture. The estate passed through various hands until the early 16th century when it was bought by Sir William Danvers. It remained with the Danvers family until 1688 when Sir Rushout Cullen purchased the estate for £7,000 (equivalent to £ in ). Cullen built the house for himself in about 1695. In 1757 the house was bought by banker Francis Child for use as a hunting lodge and it remained in the Jersey family until the end of the 19th century when it was held by

George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, GCH, PC (19 August 1773 – 3 October 1859), previously George Villiers and styled Viscount Villiers until 1805, was a British courtier and Conservative politician from the Villiers family. He added ...

.Christie's Sale Catalogue for Upton House, 14 & 15 October 1991 In 1897, the estate was bought by brewer Andrew Richard Motion, grandfather of the writer Andrew Motion. In 1927 the estate was acquired by

Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted Colonel Walter Horace Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted (13 March 1882 – 8 November 1948) was an Anglo-Jewish army officer and oilman. Samuel was the son of Marcus Samuel, the founder of Shell Transport and Trading, and from 1921 to 1946 served ...

, who owed his fortune to the fact that his father Marcus Samuel was the founder of the oil company Shell Transport & Trading. His wife Lady Bearsted worked with "Kitty" Lloyd Jones to transform the house's garden during the early 1930s. Kitty would visit and send letters to Lady Bearstead about her gardens. The letters include lists of plants that Lady Bearstead would approve before the gardener, Mr Tidman, planted them. Kitty is credited today with the soft colours and strong colours of the gardens at Upton Houses. She takes particular credit for converting some marshland into the bog garden which she envisaged based around a natural spring in the garden. Lord Bearsted donated the house, gardens and art collection to the

in 1948. Lord Bearsted's son, the 3rd Viscount, lived at Upton from 1948 until his death in 1986 and added to the gift to the National Trust the collection of fine porcelain. On the death of the 3rd Viscount, the furniture and other items on view in the rooms were offered to the nation by his daughter, Hon. Mrs. R. Waley-Cohen, through the "in lieu" system, on condition that they remain at Upton and on view to the public. Mrs. Waley-Cohen continued to live in the house until 1988, when the family moved to another property on the estate. In October 1991, she offered for sale by public auction, a large number of items which were considered surplus to requirements. The sale, by Christie's, took place at the house, in a total of 1083 separate lots, and included pictures, furniture, porcelain, silver, objects and carpets.

Description

Upton is a long low house built of local yellow

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

. It was considerably expanded from 1927 to 1929 for the 2nd Viscount Bearsted by Morley Horder who retained the

Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style from the name ''Carolus'' (Latin for 'Charles'), refers to the decorative and literary arts that became popular in England from the Stuart Restoration, restoration of the monarchy in 1660 under Charl ...

appearance of the exterior while introducing some

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

elements in the interior, particularly in the bathroom for Lady Bearsted, where the walls are covered in aluminium leaf. The style of interiors at Upton has been described by art critic

Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster, CBE (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general p ...

as Curzon Street Baroque. A main attraction of Upton is the garden. A lawn, with huge cedar trees, sweeps gently down from the house and below is an extensive terraced garden. The garden features a

kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

, a series of

herbaceous border A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody) arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ...

s and a large lake with

water lilies ''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artisti ...

in a small valley. The terracing, unseen from the house and on a first visit unsuspected, contains the National Collection of '' Aster''. In use since the 12th century, the gardens were largely transformed by Kitty Lloyd-Jones for Lady Bearsted in the 1920s and 1930s, including the creation of a rare Bog Garden on the site of medieval fish ponds.

Art collection

Perhaps uniquely among country houses owned by the National Trust, its significance lies principally in its art collection. The house is presented more as an art gallery than as a private home, although care has been taken to restore the house to how it looked in the 1930s. It contains a unique Art Deco bathroom and a collection of early Shell advertising posters, together with some of their original artwork, by such artists as

Rex Whistler Reginald John "Rex" Whistler (24 June 190518 July 1944) was a British artist, who painted murals and society portraits, and designed theatrical costumes. He was killed in action in Normandy in World War II. Whistler was the brother of poet and ...

. The collection was assembled by Lord Bearsted, helped by his being a Trustee of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

. Lord Bearsted's sister Nellie Inonides also became an avid collector. The collection at Upton includes English and Continental

old master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

, Anthony Devis, Francesco Guardi,

Jan Steen Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour. Lif ...

Melchior d'Hondecoeter Melchior d'Hondecoeter (; 1636 – 3 April 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscap ...

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

, Joshua Reynolds,

Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed wit ...

and

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

. Highlights of the collection include: *''The Duet or "Le corset blue"'' (mid-1660s) by

Gabriël Metsu Gabriël Metsu (1629–1667) was a List of Dutch painters, Dutch painter of history paintings, still lifes, portraits, and genre works. He was "a highly eclectic artist, who did not adhere to a consistent style, technique, or one type of subject ...

*''Self Portrait of the Artist Engraving'' (1783) by Richard Morton Paye *''William Beckford'' (1782) by George Romney (purchased by 1st Viscount Bearstead in the mistaken belief it was Beckford's father) *''The Interior of the Church of St. Catherine, Utrecht (1655–1660)'' by Pieter Jansz. Saenredam *''Martin Rize'' (1612) by Frans Pourbus the Younger *''Adoration of the Kings'' (c. 1495), a

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

by a follower of

Hieronymous Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...

( version of the original held by Museo del Prado in Madrid) *''Bacino di San Marco, Venice'' (c. 1725–26) by

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...

*''The Death of the Virgin'' (1564) (

grisaille Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...

) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder *''Morning'' and ''Night'', two of the

Four Times of the Day ''Four Times of the Day'' is a series of four oil paintings by English artist William Hogarth. They were completed in 1736 and in 1738 were reproduced and published as a series of four engravings. They are humorous depictions of life in the s ...

(c. 1736), by

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...

*''The Labourers'' (1779), ''The Haymakers'' (1783) and ''The Reapers'' (1783) by

George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds, Reynold ...

*'' The Disrobing of Christ (El Espolio)'' by El Greco (c. 1579) (purchased by Viscount Bearstead in July 1938 for the sum of £5,000) *'' Massacre of the Innocents'' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1565): in 2014 an appeal was launched to raise funds to help conserve the painting. There is also a collection of English fine

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

, including

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, Bow and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, as well as some French

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

References

External links

Upton House at the National TrustUpton House Garden - a Gardens Guide review
*{{NHLE , num=1024175 Art museums and galleries in Warwickshire National Trust properties in Warwickshire Country houses in Warwickshire Gardens in Warwickshire Grade II* listed buildings in Warwickshire Historic house museums in Warwickshire Articles containing video clips Grade II* listed houses