A brief description, written during the time the house was the home of Captain and Mrs. Derek O’Reilly (1970 onwards).
HISTORY
In 1585 the 2nd Earl of Pembroke sold the Manor of Stockton to John Topp, a citizen and merchant tailor of London. Topp already owned land in Stockton held by his father and grandfather, and, in 1595, he settled the whole estate on his nephew, also called John. This John built Stockton House towards the end of the 1590’s and it remained in the Topp family until the husband of the last Topp heiress sold the estate to Henry Biggs in 1772.
Henry Biggs’ son, Harry, inherited the estate in 1800, and in 1802 he employed Jeffry Wyatt (Wyattville) to introduce a new staircase and redecorate several rooms on the ground floor. He is also believed to have built the south doorway and laid out much of the present park. Harry Biggs died in 1856 and the estate went to his son Henry, who in turn left it to his nephew, Arthur Yeatman, who, in 1878, took the additional name of Biggs.
Major General Arthur Yeatman Biggs, as he became, employed the architects, Edmund and B.E. Ferrey, to carry out extensive alterations and additions to the house between 1877 and 1882. His coat of arms is above the front door. The hall was decorated in the Jacobean style and an arcaded opening was made into the staircase hall beyond. New service buildings were added on the north side and a wing to the east. The General died campaigning in India in 1898 and the estate was left to his brother who was successively Bishop of Southwark, Worcester and Coventry.
In 1921 Bishop Yeatman Biggs sold the manor to Mrs Skeffington-Smyth who, in 1927, sold it to Oswald Toynbee Falk. Falk made substantial alterations to the decorations in the hall, dining room and staircase removing much of the Ferrey’s work in these rooms and introducing the early 16th century fireplace in the hall and the doors and door-cases of a similar date. These are all believed to have come from a castle in Wales. He also built a false ceiling beneath the staircase lantern and replaced the doors on the first floor.
In 1934 Falk sold to Michael Scott and in 1950 Scott’s widow sold the manor to J.M. Stratton. Stockton House was subsequently bought by Lady Lacey from whose estate the present owners bought the house in 1970. In the last few years the house has been modernised and redecorated and the greater part of the staircase hall restored.
THE HALL
You start your visit in the hall where you can see the very large fireplace introduced by O.T. Falk and the doors which are older than the house itself. The armoir is French, made in the 18th century and is solid walnut. The brass sconces, now electrified, are Italian. The oak armchair dates from the time of James I. The Turkey carpets are 19th century.
DINING ROOM
This is another room left very plain by O.T. Falk who is also believed to have brought in the fireplace. This was the library in the Victorian house when the present kitchen was the dining room. The grospoint needlework seats on the Regency sabre leg dining chairs were worked by the owner’s mother. The tapestry is modern and made in France. On the shelves to the left of the fireplace is part of a Coalport dessert service. The cow was a present to the owner when he was Defence and Naval Attache in The Hague; it is Pijnacker Delft. The pastels either side of the door are of the owner’s grandmother and great aunt. In the corner is a lithograph signed by F. Bartolozzi and dated 1780. The carpet is a Persian Mahal. The Firescreen, which dates from the early 19th century carries the coat of arms of the St. Aubert family, great grandmother of the present owner.
WHITE DRAWING ROOM
This room, confusingly known as the White Drawing Room, despite the green colour of the panelling, is hardly touched since the house was built. The frieze carries the initials of John and Mary Topp who built the house and the arms are those of Topp. The furniture in this room has been together in the owner’s family for many years and the water-colour, to the Right of the door, shows the birdseye maple and kingwood chairs, probably Austrian, being used in the early part of the 19th century. The bronze is a copy Michelangelo’s “Pendrone†from the tomb of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, in the Princes Chapel, Florence. The aquatints are copies of Holbein drawings of the Royal Family. The miniatures by the fire are Persian and the one behind the door, also painted on ivory, is perhaps an artist’s sample. The rug is a Persian Injilas, and there is a Karaja runner.
STAIRCASE
It is believed that Wyatt’s original design included a balustraded landing on three sides but this was altered in 1877 when the state bedroom was enlarged to take in part of the staircase hall. The curtains are 18th century Aubusson and the tapestry panels 19th century Gobelins. The pair of demi-lune tables were made in London in the 19th century. On the landing the group of five amorini musicians is Italian, 19th century. There are two Feraghan rugs on the ground floor and immediately beneath the stair a large Ghoreven carpet.
STATE BEDROOM
It is difficult to date the panelling in this room but you can clearly see where it was extended between 1877 and 1882 and the ceiling is of this date. The rug is a Shirvan runner.
SHADRACH ROOM
It is believed that this room is exactly the same as it was when the house was built. The elaborate plasterwork over the fireplace tells the story of Shadrach Meshag and Abednego and you can clearly read the quotation from the Book of Daniel. It is said that John Topp was loyal to the Catholic faith and this room was his way of affirming his loyalty. The emblems on the ceiling are also supposed to signify important people who were opposed to Queen Elizabeth. Certainly there is a thistle in this one, perhaps for the Queen of Scots, and the Lillies of France are shown in another. Here, as in all the rooms in the house, the plasterwork has not been painted but only washed so that the detail is not spoilt.
IRISÂ ROOM
The next small panelled room is known as the Iris Room because there used to be an Iris paper between the panelling and the ceiling. The fireplace and the carving above it are interesting.
ELIZABETHAN ROOM
You should look at this ceiling which has the cipher of the First Queen Elizabeth set in the plaster. The Arms over the fire are those of James I. The modern Rumanian rug was bought in Italy.
GEORGIAN ROOM
This room has some fine waxed pine and a pretty fireplace. Returning to the landing from the Georgian Room you can clearly see the lantern which has recently been opened up. Until a few years ago a false ceiling blocked out the light and this was removed as part of the restoration work to the staircase hall.
MUSIC ROOM
This room has the finest plasterwork and carving in the house. The ceiling is very rich with all sorts of animals and birds. The overmantel, which tells the story of Adam and Eve, is believed to be the work of William Arnold, the Master Mason who built Montacute and the Loggia at Cranborne. The figures to the left are depicted before the fall, and to the right from Eve’s distinctly rueful expression, after it. The fruit is shewn in the centre and the serpents in the birds’ mouths. The walnut commode dates from the early part of the 19th century and is French. The tallboy is 18th century English. The water-colour above the commode depicts the Hotel de Ville at Louvain and was painted by the owner’s great grandfather – George Somers Clarke.
The doorway at the south end of this room is elaborately carved and surmounted by figures of Diana, Cupid and Athene.
The rugs in this room include a large old Feraghan, a Sarouk and a Shiraz rug in front of the fire.
The Music Room was drawn in 1824 for Hoare’s History of Wiltshire, and, as far as is known, remained largely unchanged until that date.
THE GARDEN
The urns are believed to have been around the house since it was built.
The badge cut into the down to the north east of the house, above the River Wylye, commemorates the Australian soldiers who served in Codford Camp during the First World War.
