A Presence Through Time

On Sunday I paid a visit to Stonor Park, approximately 5 miles form Henley. This is the view of Stonor House from the drive. Parts of the house date back to the 12th century, and the house has been in the hands of the same family since that time. The history of the house is fascinating, like the architecture. The earliest parts of the house were constructed out of bricks, local stone and chalk. The flint and stone chapel and brick clock tower were added in the 14th century. In the middle of the 18th century, the Georgian facade was added, unifying the appearance of the whole house.



As a bricklayer myself, it was fascinating looking at how the house has progressed, and how repairs and alterations, as above, were not always carried out in the style of the original building. That said though, there are examples of all the things that exemplify quality building to be seen here.

One of the things that I noticed, that really made me smile, was by the doorway to the oldest part of the house. The brickwork here is covered in marks scratched into the soft bricks, made by some of the tradesmen who worked on the building at various times.