About 30 members of the HA&HG visited the beautiful manor house, hidden behind its elegant gateway next to Harpsden Church. The owners were delighted to show us around and tell us about life there in the past and present, especially how the house earns its living (the large amount of maintenance and repairs it needs) through its frequent use in films and TV locations, Midsomer Murders being perhaps the best known one.
The drawing below is a bird’s eye view of Harpsden Court 1586; by John Blagrave of Reading
Ruth Gibson explained the architectural sequences from medieval tower to Elizabethan hall and chamber range; early 18th C kitchen and Gothic revival re-fronting with grand trompe l’oeil windows replacing the more modest Tudor ones.
A further visit is planned for next spring for those members who would have liked to go, but could not.
Ruth Gibson