Shobdon Court

{{Short description|Country house in Herefordshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox building | name = Shobdon Court | image = Shobdon Court (geograph 3939708).jpg | caption = Shobdon Court former service block | location = Shobdon, Herefordshire, England | coordinates = {{coord|52.2598|-2.8788|display=inline}} | pushpin_map = Herefordshire | building_type = Country house | architectural_style = Palladian | material = Brick | completion_date = Early 18th century | renovation_date = Mid 19th century | owner = Bateman family (1705–1931) }} '''Shobdon Court''' was an 18th-century English country house in the village of Shobdon, near Leominster, Herefordshire. Although the main house has since been demolished, the service wing and the stable block have been converted to residential use.

Shobdon Court was rectangular in plan and sat in parkland on the side of a hill. Built of brick, it was similar in appearance to Clarendon House in London. It was substantially remodelled in the mid 1800s.

==History== The Shobdon estate was bought in 1705 by Sir James Bateman, Lord Mayor of London and Governor of the Bank of England, who replaced the Jacobean house with a new Palladian style building. On his death in 1718, it passed to his son William Bateman, 1st Viscount Bateman, and was inherited in turn by the latter's son, John Bateman, 2nd Viscount Bateman, who put it in the care of his brother Richard. When John died in 1802 the Viscountcy became extinct, and Shobdon Court passed to a relative, William Hanbury, who was ennobled as Baron Bateman in 1837 after having changed his name to Bateman-Hanbury.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://herefordshirepast.co.uk/buildings/shobdon-court/|title=Shobdon Court History|publisher=Herefordshire Past|accessdate= 16 February 2018}} </ref>

The estate was passed down through the Bateman-Hanbury family until the 3rd Lord Bateman died in 1931. On his death, the Baronetage also became extinct, and the estate was sold. The Shobdon Court house was demolished in 1933, but the service and stable blocks were converted to apartments. Both the service block<ref>{{NHLE|num=1082092|desc=SHOBDON COURT|access-date=2023-12-14}} </ref> and the stable block<ref>{{NHLE|num=1166816|desc=Old Stable Court|access-date=2023-12-14}} </ref> are now Grade II listed buildings.

==World War II==

During the Second World War, the remaining court buildings we requisitioned and formed the officers quarters for the then RAF Shobdon. One of the legacies of this was the construction of an on-site squash court, which still exists today.

== Church and arches ==

The estate's church, St John's, was completely rebuilt between 1749 and 1752 for John Bateman, 2nd Viscount Bateman,{{sfn|Brooks|Pevsner|2012|pp=596-8}} in a Rococo style. Simon Jenkins, in his book ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', considers the interior "a complete masterpiece [of] English Rococo".<ref>{{Cite book|last = Jenkins|first = Simon|authorlink = Simon Jenkins|title=England's Thousand Best Churches|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNhxpwAACAAJ&q=herefordshire+brooks+pevsner|year=1999|publisher=Penguin|isbn=0-713-99281-6|page=277}}</ref> It is a Grade I listed building.<ref name="historicengland2">{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1166734 |title=CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST - 1166734 |publisher=Historic England |date=1959-06-11 |accessdate=2016-10-09}}</ref>

Arches from the interior of the church were removed in the 18th century to form an eye-catcher in the grounds of the Court.<ref>{{Cite book|last1 = Brooks|first1 = Alan|last2 = Pevsner|first2 = Nikolaus|authorlink2 = Nikolaus Pevsner |series=The Buildings of England|title=Herefordshire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNhxpwAACAAJ&q=herefordshire+brooks+pevsner|year=2012|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-12575-7|pages=596–598}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Country houses in Herefordshire Category:Grade II listed buildings in Herefordshire