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An Introduction to the House
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On a site which has been occupied since the 12th century, the current Upton House is a late seventeenth century mansion, built of the mellow local 'Hornton' stone. The house was extensively enlarged and remodelled in the 1920s, following its purchase by Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, the son of the founder of Shell.
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Walter Samuel was one of the great art collectors of the period and, following the purchase of the house in 1927, remodelled the house as much to show off his art collection, as he did to update it for modern living and socialising. A leading country house architect, Percy Morley-Horder, was commissioned to bring modern style to this fading mansion, and this he achieved by removing walls and floors to create large, bright rooms to entertain guests and display artworks, and additional bedrooms to accommodate extended family and overnighting guests
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Whilst the exterior retains the look of a 17th century mansion, inside the rooms give the feel of a 1920s country house, complete with a magnificent vaulted bathroom decorated in silver and red. One imagines elegant weekend house parties, with the elite of interwar society enjoying country sports on the estate, followed by dinner and dancing in the house. The piano is often played in the Long Gallery to recreate the atmosphere of the age
With three floors open to the public, the period rooms provide a fine backdrop for the internationally important Bearsted collection of paintings and porcelain that are one of the main draws for many visitors, from near and far
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