Hazelhatch

Description

Hazelhatch is a Grade II-listed, seven-bed, 5,727-sq ft country house standing in 10 acres of Surrey Hills countryside. Designed by Lutyens, it was built in 1897 for the Anglo-Irish poet and novelist, The Hon Emily Lawless, friend of Gertrude Jekyll and daughter of Lord Cloncurry. Miss Lawless lived here with her companion, Lady Sarah Isabella Spencer, sister of 5th Earl Spencer. The elevations are part-colour washed and part-tile hung, with gables inspired by Webb’s Joldwynds and there are leaded-light casements, deep-bay windows, a gabled roofline and stout chimneys. Jekyll planned the woodland garden. There is also Jekyll sunken garden enclosed by stone walls, enclosing flower borders in the lawn to the south of the house. (Contributor: Paul Waite)

HAZELHATCH. Designed by Lutyens 1896–7 for the Hon. Emily Lawless, an Anglo-Irish novelist, and her friend Lady Sarah Spencer. It has surprisingly little in common with the numerous other houses (Fulbrook, Orchards (Munstead), qq.v., etc.) he brought to fruition in the same year. Tile-hung exterior with gables derived from Webb’s Joldwynds. At the SW corner, two-storey canted bays breaking out in two directions with tile skirting around their waist and a similar bay to the r. floating free at a mezzanine level. The staircase window (N side) was deeply recessed internally to provide room for Miss Lawless’s writing desk. Extended at the N end for new porch and music room. Originally a Jekyll garden; outlines only now. (O’Brien et al., 2022, p.159)

House. Circa 1897 by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Whitewashed brick below with tile hanging above under plain tiled roof, half-hipped to left. Two storeys with attics under large hipped roof, square bay dormer projecting, and breaking through the eaves to left of centre. Tall proportions with very high first floor. Stack to left, double end corbelled stack to left of main range with massive corbelled cross ridge stack to right. Highly irregular fenestration with tall, narrow, staircase window to left and two leaded casements under dormer to left of centre. One leaded casement first floor right, one window to ground floor left. Mullioned and transomed window to ground floor right under penticed hood. Large gabled tile hung shallow brick porch to left of centre with panelled door and flanking single light window. Flat roofed tile hung and brick range projecting to right.

Right hand return front: large gable. Single storey square bay with rounded corners to left, two storey angle bay to right end.

Rear: double gable with angle bay to left and square bay to first floor right, open underneath with flat patio to right.

The house was originally set in a Gertrude Jekyll garden. (Historic England, list entry 1377777)

Bibliography

O’Brien, C., Nairn, I. and Cherry, B. (2022) Surrey. Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Historic England. Hazelhatch. [Online] Available from: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1377777

Also Cited In

Nairn, I., Pevsner, N. (1971) Surrey (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England). 2nd edn. Yale University Press.

Listing Grade

II

Listing Reference

1377777

Client

Hon Emily Lawless