Okeover Hall
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Okeover Hall, Staffordshire, is the family seat of the Okeover family, which has been in residence since the reign of William Rufus. The house lies at the border of Staffordshire with Derbyshire, which lies on the far side of the small River Dove. The house and manor church (fourteenth century, restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott) were pillaged by the Jacobite forces as they marched south to Swarkstone Bridge in 1745. In 1745-47 Leak Okeover had the old hall enlarged to Palladian designs by a London carpenter and joiner, Joseph Sanderson, a cousin of John Sanderson, the architect. Stables at right angles to the house form a separate nine-bay range with a central pediment on Doric pilasters over three rusticated arches. The house is a testament to the high level of education and competence that might be elicited from a well-trained Georgian craftsman.
A feature of the house is the wrought iron gates (1756) with armorial overthrow, by master smith Benjamin Yates, a pupil of Robert Bakewell.
A north wing was demolished in the early nineteenth century. Neo-Georgian south and east wings were added 1953–1960 to a sensitive design by Marshall Sisson.
References
- Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1660-1840, 3rd ed. 1995, under "Joseph Anderson"
- Geoffrey Beard, Georgian Craftsmen
References on-line
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