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Summary

Unlisted late 19th century country house designed by architect Mervyn Macartney for his artist brother and built within a much older farmstead on the edge of Crookham Common

Monument Type(s):

• COUNTRY HOUSE (Late 19th century - 1895 AD? to 1897 AD?)
• OFFICE (Cold War to Early 21st century - 1970 AD to 2050 AD)

Full Description

Foxhold was designed by Mervyn Macartney in c1895-7 as a home for his brother Carlile Macartney, a ‘distinguished painter, Arabic scholar, linguist and horologist' <1>. The house is of red brick under a tiled roof with the rooms on either side of a long central corridor; it also features a high ceilinged studio with vast north facing window <2>. It was built within the holding of 'Foxhole Farm' <3>, presumably replacing the original farmhouse as the main dwelling, although it appears that this survived as Elizabeth Cottage whilst a barn and shelter shed may have been demolished <4>. Foxhold remained in the Macartney family until 1932.

During the military era of the Common, Foxhold was used by the US Air Force; the construction of a new Newbury to Basingstoke road, necessary because of the increased use of the airfield runway, split the house from its gardens, which originally ran down to the River Enborne. The house was purchased in 1970 by the Nature Conservancy Council and in the early 21st century was the regional office of their successor, English Nature <2>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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