Upton Top Ranking - Art Deco Glamour In Rural Warwickshire

In 1927 Mr AR Motion put his house and accompanying 800 acre estate up for sale.

Andrew Motion was an East-End boy made good. He'd worked his way up from humble brewery labourer to owning a hugely successful brewing business. He bought Upton House in Warwickshire in 1897, considering it to be a suitable country estate for a man of his standing but, at the age of 70, with his wife in declining health and his six children married and living independently, he decided to downsize.

Upton House was bought by Walter and Dorothea Samuel, Lord and Lady Bearsted. Lord Bearsted had become one of the wealthiest men in Britain after inheriting the family fortune, amassed from his father's development of the Shell Transport & Trading Company which gave him the funds to buy and redevelop Upton for the modern age. 

The building work soon began with esteemed British architect Percy Morley Horder employed to transform the "old-fashioned" country house into a "made to measure" home, suitable for hosting glamorous Jazz Age parties and for showcasing Lord Bearsted's large collection of art.

Percy Morley Horder's office as it would have looked in 1927

1920s Britain was an era free from planning laws and the rich could pretty much do what they liked with their money. On buying 17th Century Upton House, Lord Bearsted proceeded to knock down walls, rip out wood paneling & cornicing, move doorways and lower ceilings. Original staircases were remodeled and fireplaces removed and replaced with built-in alcoves to accommodate Lord Bearsted's collection of antique figurines. What is it they say about money not being able to buy taste? 

Mercifully, Upton House's facade remained untouched throughout the renovations. 

On arrival we made our way to the Land Agent's office and booked an architectural talk, with a tour of the house an hour later. The talk was interesting and the National Trust volunteer engaging and lovely but the gloomy, characterless interior of the house left us decidedly underwhelmed, in marked contrast to our opinion of the gorgeous exterior.

We took a stroll around the grounds, which looked beautiful despite the chilly weather (so much for Spring, it tried to snow when we got there!)

On re-entering the house the curtains had been drawn and the rooms were flooded with light so the dingy interior looked a lot more enticing - maybe those renovations weren't such a bad idea.  To mark the ninetieth anniversary of Upton House's sale The National Trust had enlarged and hung original photographs of the interior over the more recent renovations so visitors were able to imagine the original layout of the house before it was purchased by the Bearsteds.

After the land agent (a National Trust volunteer in disguise) ran through the particulars of Upton House we were left to roam around at our leisure and invited to open drawers and have a poke around.

You can tell a lot about a person from their taste in books!

The billiard room

Cosy family living space just off the Grand Hall

The original fireplaces were replaced with reproductions then considered to be far more fashionable

Lord Bearsted amassed an incredible art collection including several works by Rembrandt & Canaletto over his lifetime. He'd inherited a fortune of £4 million in 1927 (said to be around £150 million by today's standards) so he could buy whatever caught his fancy. 

Lord Bearsted didn't just splash his cash on home renovations and art, he contributed over half a million pounds to Kindertransport, was a trustee for the Tate Gallery and donated to the National Art Collections Fund. On being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1948 (and dying months later) he bequeathed Upton House and Gardens to the National Trust, ensuring it would be enjoyed by the nation for years to come.

After an hour or so exploring the downstairs, Upton House was beginning to grow on us. Although these 1920s stairs weren't as fabulous as the photos we'd seen of the original stone staircase we had to admit that they were still pretty spectacular.

Unlike normal people who move into a house and buy a picture to fill a space on a wall, Lord Bearsted built his house especially to accommodate his paintings. 

I'd read a few reviews on Trip Advisor suggesting that the upstairs of Upton House wasn't worth bothering with. After seeing for ourselves it only goes to prove that a lot of the site's contributors are mad (so book a hotel on their recommendations with extreme caution!)

This sweet little Art Deco bedroom was adorable.

Although the clothes on display in the Modern Ages room were reproduction, they'd captured the Jazz Age well. 

The volunteers encouraged me to rummage through the wardrobe and try on this burn-out velvet piano shawl.

I felt quite at home looking at my reflection in this 1920s sink unit, we inherited its twin when we moved into our house (and still taking pride of place in the utility room).

Lord Bearsted owned Shell and the many vintage advertising posters on display along the corridors of the upper floor made Jon (and me!) weak at the knees.

The opulence of Lady Bearsted's bedroom was incredible but I nearly died when I saw the Art Deco splendour of her en-suite bathroom.

Yes, the walls & ceiling really are silver.

I'd have loved to have met Lady Bearsted, she must have been quite a woman.

We were invited to take a test to see whether we had good taste (as defined by a 1920s edition of Country Living magazine) and I passed the test with flying colours. So I was right when I called Lord Bearsted's collection of china figurines hideous! 

After a final wander around the gardens we strolled back along the elegant carriage walk and made the hour long journey home.

Upton House, 

Near Banbury, Warwickshire

 OX15 6HT

Hope you enjoyed your trip, we did!

See you soon.

Linking to Patti & the gang for Visible Monday.


Click on the photos if you want to see them in more detail (especially that bathroom!)