Hill Hall: a singular house devised by a Tudor intellectual
Christopher Catling, 2009. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000005. How to cite using this DOI
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Christopher
Catling
Society of Antiquaries of London
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- ADS Collection: 932
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000005
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
Hill Hall began as a late eleventh century hunting lodge and grew to be the principal house of the manor of Theydon Mount in Essex, a small country retreat within easy reach of London. In 1556, the house was acquired by Sir Thomas Smith (1512-77), a man of humble origins but precocious intellect who became Regius Professor of Civil Law at Cambridge at the age of thirty and Chancellor of the University two years later. He then forsook academic for political life, becoming Master of Requests to the Lord Protector Somerset.
From 1557, Smith rebuilt the house in French-influenced classical style and decorated it with wall paintings of Cupid and Psyche and King Hezekiah, conveying complex messages of morality and affinity as part of a coherent programme of images in paint, glass and tiles.
Four centuries on, the house was first used as an open prison, then, in 1969, largely gutted by fire and finally, in 1980, taken into the care of the Department of the Environment. Archaeological excavation and detailed recording of the surviving fabric took place prior to the restoration of the house and its mural paintings, the results of which are now presented in this copiously illustrated account of one of the most important and influential houses to be built in Elizabethan England.
The Digital Archive
The following drawings are supplied as high-resolution PDF files for downloading and printing out for the purposes of study and research. They are the copyright of the Society of Antiquaries of London and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the Society (www.sal.org.uk).
Hill Hall Reconstructions
Fig 196 Reconstruction of the north elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 197 Reconstruction of the east elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 198 Reconstruction of the south elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 199 Reconstruction of the west elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 200 Reconstruction of the north-west range, south elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 201 Reconstruction of the north-west range, north elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 202 Reconstruction of the courtyard, north elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 203 Reconstruction of the courtyard, east elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 204 Reconstruction of the courtyard, south elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 205 Reconstruction of the courtyard, west elevation, end of Period 2
Fig 206 The evolution of the footprint of Hill Hall, Periods 2.0 to 2.4
Hill Hall Sectional Elevations
Fig 329SE Location of sectional elevations shown in Figs 330SE to 361SE and key to phasing
Fig 330SE North elevation
Fig 331SE East elevation
Fig 332SE South elevation
Fig 333SE West elevation
Fig 334SE North-west range, south elevation
Fig 335SE North-west range, west elevation
Fig 336SE North-west range, north elevation
Fig 337SE Courtyard, north elevation
Fig 338SE Courtyard, east elevation
Fig 339SE Courtyard, south elevation
Fig 340SE Courtyard, west elevation
Fig 341SE North range, interior of north wall
Fig 342SE North range, interior of south wall
Fig 343SE North range, section looking east
Fig 344SE North range, section looking west
Fig 345SE East range, interior of east wall
Fig 346SE East range, interior of west wall
Fig 347SE South-east pavilion, interior of north wall
Fig 348SE South-east pavilion, interior of south wall
Fig 349SE South range, interior of south wall
Fig 350SE South range, interior of north wall
Fig 351SE South range, hall screen looking west
Fig 352SE South range, hall screen looking east
Fig 353SE West range, interior of west wall
Fig 354SE West range, interior of east wall
Fig 355SE South-west pavilion, interior of south wall
Fig 356SE South-west pavilion, interior of west wall
Fig 357SE South-west pavilion, interior of north wall
Fig 358SE North-west range, interior of south wall
Fig 359SE North-west range, interior of north wall
Fig 360SE North-west range, sections
Fig 361SE North-west range, section looking west
Hill Hall period Plans
Fig 362P Ground plan, Period 1.1
Fig 363P Ground plan, Period 1.2
Fig 364P Ground plan, Period 1.3
Fig 365P Ground plan, Period 2.0
Fig 366P Ground plan, Period 2.1
Fig 367P Ground plan, Period 2.2
Fig 368P First floor plan, showing the house at the end of Period 2.4
Fig 369P Second floor plan, showing the house at the end of Period 2.4
Fig 370P Ground plan, Periods 2.3 - 2.4
Fig 371P Ground plan, Period 3.1
Fig 372P First floor plan, Period 3.1
Fig 373P Ground plan, Period 3.2
Fig 374P First floor plan, Period 3.2
Fig 375P Ground plan, Period 3.3
Fig 376P Ground plan, Period 3.4
Fig 377P First floor plan, Period 3.4
Fig 378P Ground plan, Period 3.5
