Visited with Ella.
Been meaning to go here for a few years now so we decided to go on Saturday. Weather wasn’t too bad for what is essentially an outdoor explore, just bloody cold.
When we arrived we were greeted with security cameras but haven’t heard of anyone being caught here in ages and nothing shouted at us over a speaker so we found a point of entry and went in. Working our way around the building we nipped inside when we could, it’s a complete mess and death trap in places. We decided to go in the bit with the stage that we assumed to be the main hall and could hear someone talking. I thought it was other explorers but no, someone was shining a torch through the side window calling us. Turned out to be a police officer with his very barky land shark on the other side of the security fence. I had jokingly said about ten minutes before I wonder if the siren in the distance was for us 😂
He asked if we were taking videos and basically security had called in that there was a burglary in progress,he said he knows there’s nothing to steal but it’s dangerous to be there, someone was seriously hurt last year and could we leave. Assuming he would be waiting for us to take details or whatever, after we got out we couldn’t find him so he clearly didn’t give much of a shit. Probably would have been a different story if we were a couple of guys.
It’s such a beautiful building, probably one of the best I’ve seen architecturally. Shame we didn’t get to do all of it.
History-
Earlier Houses: There has been a manor house on the site since the Middle Ages; the most recent of these houses, the 18th century Overstone Hall, was partially incorporated into the current house.
Built / Designed For: 1st Lord Overstone
Overstone Hall was acquired by the banker Lewis Loyd on February 9, 1832 for £117,500, approximately £102 million in 2019 values using the labour value commodity index. Loyd made his fortune as a partner in Jones, Loyd & Co. (later merged into what is today NatWest) and purchased Overstone as his country estate.
In 1858, at the death of Mr. Loyd, the existing house and 10,000 acres were inherited by his son, Samuel Jones Loyd, 1st Lord Overstone. In 1860 Lady Overstone engaged the architect W.M. Teulon to replace the existing 18th century Overstone Hall with something more grand that reflected their newly-elevated status. The result was a Victorian hodgepodge of Elizabethan and Italianate architectural styles that retained some elements of the 18th century house. However, Lord Overstone hated his new home, renamed Overstone House, remarking in a letter to a friend: "The New House, I regret to say, is a cause of unmitigated disappointment and vexation. It is an utter failure...tho' very large and full of pretension – has neither taste, comfort or convenience – I am utterly ashamed of it...the principal rooms are simply uninhabitable - I shall never fit them up..." The public rooms were indeed very large, drafty, and imposing; elsewhere, there was a more intimate family wing that contained numerous guest bedrooms, bathrooms, and dressing rooms.
At the last count, there were 119 rooms in the main house. Such grandiosity ran contrary to Lord Overstone's rather timid and retiring nature and he despaired of living up to the monstrosity he had created. He did, in fact, refuse to live in it, as much because he disliked it as for the fact that his wife, whose idea the entire project was, died in 1864, before the final touches had been put to the house. He lived at Lockinge House until his death, only rarely making the long journey to Overstone Park when compelled by estate business. He bequeathed the estate to his daughter, Harriet Sarah Loyd (later Baroness Wantage), on his death in 1883.
Overstone was used only occasionally by Lord and Lady Wantage for winter hunting parties, as they too made Lockinge their primary seat. On the death of Lady Wantage in 1920, Overstone was sold to meet the debts of Lewis Richard William Loyd, a spendthrift younger cousin. The mansion was bought by Sir Philip Stott, a noted architect of mills and warehouses in the North of England, as a base for the training of Conservative Party members. Condemning the scheme as an "abject failure," the party sold the house and park by private treaty in 1929 to the Charlotte Mason Schools Company, who turned the main house, the stableblock, and other outbuildings into a girls' boarding school. In 1979 the school closed and the land and mansion were sold by tender to property speculators for £701,000.
The house and 70 acres of land were purchased from the speculators in 1980 by the New Testament Church of God as its UK headquarters; thus, Overstone continued its role as an educational establishment until April 16, 2001, when the house caught fire; the fire started in one of the top floor rooms and a very large proportion of the interior fabric of Overstone House was destroyed.
In 2008 the New Testament Church of God moved their headquarters permanently to Northampton; in 2010 the church listed the house for sale for £1.5 million. In 2015 Overstone was purchased by Barry Howard Homes, who intend to convert Overstone House into 16 homes.
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSES: The Rev. Lewis Loyd, 1832-58. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Samuel Jones Loyd, 1st and last Baron Overstone, 1860-83; Harriet Sarah Loyd, Lady Wantage, 1883-1920.
Current Ownership Type: Unknown
Primary Current Ownership Use: Unoccupied
Some more info I found -
Overstone Hall was highly advanced when new, built with double walls, giving it the earliest known cavity wall insulation. It also had a central heating system, gas lighting and a butler’s lift. However, Lord Overstone is said to have disliked the design and never lived there. Today, the building remains unloved – around half is a burnt out shell after a fire in 2001. The New Testament Church of God put the hall up for sale in 2010 for £1million but it remains unsold at that high price. The Church was reportedly ordered to carry out work to ensure public safety in June after severe vandalism. The owners should face up to the responsibility of owning a historic building and take action to ensure it survives – potentially by selling it a more realistic price.
Been meaning to go here for a few years now so we decided to go on Saturday. Weather wasn’t too bad for what is essentially an outdoor explore, just bloody cold.
When we arrived we were greeted with security cameras but haven’t heard of anyone being caught here in ages and nothing shouted at us over a speaker so we found a point of entry and went in. Working our way around the building we nipped inside when we could, it’s a complete mess and death trap in places. We decided to go in the bit with the stage that we assumed to be the main hall and could hear someone talking. I thought it was other explorers but no, someone was shining a torch through the side window calling us. Turned out to be a police officer with his very barky land shark on the other side of the security fence. I had jokingly said about ten minutes before I wonder if the siren in the distance was for us 😂
He asked if we were taking videos and basically security had called in that there was a burglary in progress,he said he knows there’s nothing to steal but it’s dangerous to be there, someone was seriously hurt last year and could we leave. Assuming he would be waiting for us to take details or whatever, after we got out we couldn’t find him so he clearly didn’t give much of a shit. Probably would have been a different story if we were a couple of guys.
It’s such a beautiful building, probably one of the best I’ve seen architecturally. Shame we didn’t get to do all of it.
History-
Earlier Houses: There has been a manor house on the site since the Middle Ages; the most recent of these houses, the 18th century Overstone Hall, was partially incorporated into the current house.
Built / Designed For: 1st Lord Overstone
Overstone Hall was acquired by the banker Lewis Loyd on February 9, 1832 for £117,500, approximately £102 million in 2019 values using the labour value commodity index. Loyd made his fortune as a partner in Jones, Loyd & Co. (later merged into what is today NatWest) and purchased Overstone as his country estate.
In 1858, at the death of Mr. Loyd, the existing house and 10,000 acres were inherited by his son, Samuel Jones Loyd, 1st Lord Overstone. In 1860 Lady Overstone engaged the architect W.M. Teulon to replace the existing 18th century Overstone Hall with something more grand that reflected their newly-elevated status. The result was a Victorian hodgepodge of Elizabethan and Italianate architectural styles that retained some elements of the 18th century house. However, Lord Overstone hated his new home, renamed Overstone House, remarking in a letter to a friend: "The New House, I regret to say, is a cause of unmitigated disappointment and vexation. It is an utter failure...tho' very large and full of pretension – has neither taste, comfort or convenience – I am utterly ashamed of it...the principal rooms are simply uninhabitable - I shall never fit them up..." The public rooms were indeed very large, drafty, and imposing; elsewhere, there was a more intimate family wing that contained numerous guest bedrooms, bathrooms, and dressing rooms.
At the last count, there were 119 rooms in the main house. Such grandiosity ran contrary to Lord Overstone's rather timid and retiring nature and he despaired of living up to the monstrosity he had created. He did, in fact, refuse to live in it, as much because he disliked it as for the fact that his wife, whose idea the entire project was, died in 1864, before the final touches had been put to the house. He lived at Lockinge House until his death, only rarely making the long journey to Overstone Park when compelled by estate business. He bequeathed the estate to his daughter, Harriet Sarah Loyd (later Baroness Wantage), on his death in 1883.
Overstone was used only occasionally by Lord and Lady Wantage for winter hunting parties, as they too made Lockinge their primary seat. On the death of Lady Wantage in 1920, Overstone was sold to meet the debts of Lewis Richard William Loyd, a spendthrift younger cousin. The mansion was bought by Sir Philip Stott, a noted architect of mills and warehouses in the North of England, as a base for the training of Conservative Party members. Condemning the scheme as an "abject failure," the party sold the house and park by private treaty in 1929 to the Charlotte Mason Schools Company, who turned the main house, the stableblock, and other outbuildings into a girls' boarding school. In 1979 the school closed and the land and mansion were sold by tender to property speculators for £701,000.
The house and 70 acres of land were purchased from the speculators in 1980 by the New Testament Church of God as its UK headquarters; thus, Overstone continued its role as an educational establishment until April 16, 2001, when the house caught fire; the fire started in one of the top floor rooms and a very large proportion of the interior fabric of Overstone House was destroyed.
In 2008 the New Testament Church of God moved their headquarters permanently to Northampton; in 2010 the church listed the house for sale for £1.5 million. In 2015 Overstone was purchased by Barry Howard Homes, who intend to convert Overstone House into 16 homes.
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSES: The Rev. Lewis Loyd, 1832-58. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Samuel Jones Loyd, 1st and last Baron Overstone, 1860-83; Harriet Sarah Loyd, Lady Wantage, 1883-1920.
Current Ownership Type: Unknown
Primary Current Ownership Use: Unoccupied
Some more info I found -
Overstone Hall was highly advanced when new, built with double walls, giving it the earliest known cavity wall insulation. It also had a central heating system, gas lighting and a butler’s lift. However, Lord Overstone is said to have disliked the design and never lived there. Today, the building remains unloved – around half is a burnt out shell after a fire in 2001. The New Testament Church of God put the hall up for sale in 2010 for £1million but it remains unsold at that high price. The Church was reportedly ordered to carry out work to ensure public safety in June after severe vandalism. The owners should face up to the responsibility of owning a historic building and take action to ensure it survives – potentially by selling it a more realistic price.
