Heythrop Park Hotel

Heythrop Park Hotel

Location: Enstone, Oxfordshire

Client: Warner Hotels

Listed Grade: II / II*

RIBA Plan of Work stages: 0-7

 

 

Heythrop House was a private residence from the beginning of the 18th century through to the early 20th century when it was sold. The main house has been extended, rebuilt, and refurbished since 1831 when a fire destroyed much of the interior. It was eventually established as a luxury hotel, golf, and country club in 2010 as the Crowne Plaza Hotel, after previous use as a college and then a training centre. The park itself is Grade II* listed and contains a series of Grade II and II* listed structures, with the main house being Grade II* listed.

 

 

After taking over the complex, Warner Hotels approached PWP Architects to secure planning and listed building consent and develop a phased scheme to improve the existing building through refurbishment, conversion, and new-build elements.

 

 

Phase 1 and 2A works consisted primarily of internal refurbishment of the main complex to bring the hotel into line with leisure hotels and move away from the conferencing hotel that was previously established. This was achieved through upgrading bedroom facilities, re-purposing conferencing facilities to provide a range of bars, restaurants, and entertainment spaces, and rationalising circulation to make movement through spaces more intuitive.

 

 

Phase 2B works developed a spa bedroom block on the site of an existing maintenance cottage, linking the main hotel to the leisure block, and replacing rooms lost during refurbishment works through combining rooms. Materially, the building is clad in render to mimic ashlar stone and is sympathetic and subservient to the stone-faced listed façade of Shrewsbury Wing. A glulam timber balcony structure ties the building to the new colonnade on the leisure building and natural planting softens the appearance from the existing building.