Pitshill House, Sussex, sits at the head of a coomb, slightly askance to the spectacular view of the Downs to the south. The present building which replaced an older house, was begun by William Mitford in 1760 and completed by his son, William Mitford, in 1794. The architect was John Upton, Surveyor to the Earl of Egremont. The 1790s work was informed by the advice of Sir John Soane. Recent years had taken its toll, neglect and poorly judged building work allowing decay of the buildings and a return of the formal grounds to scrub.
The restoration was to reinstate the presence the house once had in the landscape along with the surviving contemporary buildings; a Shell House, a Prospect Tower, an Ice House and two picturesque drive Lodges. Simon Johnson oversaw the preservation of these historic structures as well as laying out a new formal garden to ‘answer’ Soane’s east front.
Recclesia Stained Glass was commissioned to design and build seven bespoke Georgian lights over the principal entrances to the house, as well as internal screens allowing borrowed light between rooms. Working alongside renowned historic interiors designer Edward Bulmer, and studying countless reference texts, each light was individually crafted using cast lead, milled lead and cylinder glass, to form delightfully elegant decorative lights in true Georgian style.
Such was the outstanding quality of the work to Pitshill House, it was crowned Winner of the Georgian Group Award 2017 for Best Restoration of a Country House. Find Out More