Youlbury House

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Youlbury House
Youlbury House
Location	Near Boars Hill, Oxfordshire
Coordinates	51°43′29″N 1°18′21″W / 51.7246016°N 1.3058583°W / 51.7246016; -1.3058583
Built	1969–1971
Architect	Hal Moggridge
Architectural style(s)	Modernist
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Youlbury House
Reference no.	1393396
Location of Youlbury House in Oxfordshire

Youlbury House is a Grade II listed modernist house located in the Youlbury Woods, near the Youlbury Scout Activity Centre and the Boars Hill in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Designed by Hal Moggridge and constructed between 1969 and 1971 for Lord Goodhart (William Goodhart QC). The house is celebrated for its architectural significance and close collaboration between client and architect. It is also recognized for preserving historical elements of the original Victorian garden created by renowned archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans.

The original house, initially just called Youlbury,^[1] dated back to the Victorian era (1830s-1900s). It was built in 1893 by Sir Arthur Evans for his wife Margaret, daughter of E. A. Freeman. Margaret died that year but he went ahead with the house plans. Evans planted landscape gardens, the artificial lakes with the bathing huts and a waterlogged punt, the house and its viewing platforms over the Vale of the White Horse and Berkshire downs. The gardens had tangled paths overhung with pink and white rhododendrons under a canopy of oak and pine, Himalayan poppies or the strawberry tree, intended to show Evan's appreciation for the natural world.^[2]

James Stewart Candy, who lived there as a child, and later became Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames describes the house in his autobiography as containing many rooms, pictures, tapestries, a large library, twenty two bedrooms, five bathrooms and a Roman bath. Outside one of the bathrooms was the head and shoulder of a bear from the Carpathian Mountains that had attacked Sir Arthur's brother, Norman. The house had a small museum of Cretan and Stone Age artifacts as well as New Zealand jade ceremonial weapons.^[3]

In November 1918, in the aftermath of World War I, Youlbury House became the site of a war memorial facing the Berkshire Downs.^[4] A path known as the Peace Path was constructed, which led to the memorial. The path was distinguished by two scarlet oaks, planted to be symbolic of peace.

Youlbury House drew numerous esteemed guests, among them Gilbert Murray, a founder of the League of Nations, and Lord Baden Powell, who visited and endorsed the site as a new headquarters for the scouts. The expansion which was seen as necessary by the original headquarters becoming insufficient for the growing movement.^[4]

The grounds of Youlbury House included a tennis court and a croquet lawn.^[4]

Evans lived there when not in Knossos until his death in 1941.

After its requisition by the War Office in 1941 and subsequent damage during World War II, the house was demolished in 1950. The land was later acquired by Arthur Lehman Goodhart, and the new Youlbury House was designed by Hal Moggridge as a holiday and weekend home, requested by William Goodhart QC, the son of jurist Arthur Goodhart.^{[5][6][circular reference]}

Youlbury House uses modernist motifs, making use of clean lines and integrating with the natural landscape. The structure features concrete floors on precast columns and western red cedar cladding. The interior includes an angled central hallway and a unique staircase designed to allow natural light to permeate the space.^[7]

The house is situated on 9.6 acres of land that includes features from the original Victorian garden, such as grown trees and rockeries. The gardens were designed to maintain a balance between cultivated spaces and the natural woodland environment.^[5]

Youlbury House is a testament to the collaboration between architect and client, and to the adaptability of modern design to respect and enhance historical contexts. It continues to be a subject of study for architecture and landscape design students and enthusiasts.^[5]

Listed as a Grade II building in 2009, Youlbury House is protected by law, ensuring the preservation of its architectural features and historical significance.^[8]

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  A contrasting winter angle of the Youlbury House reveals its harmonious integration with the surrounding dormant woodland.
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  An encompassing aerial view of Youlbury House's modernist structure amidst the dense woodland, with the cityscape of Oxford in the distant horizon.
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  The aged stone staircase adorned with eagle statues, remnants of the Victorian era garden at Youlbury House.

• Historic England List Entry for Youlbury House
• WowHaus article on Youlbury House
• Flickr image depicting the view from the original Youlbury House

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Youlbury House.