Page 34 - cn -stock completed epa paintings - 23-02- 2025_Handy

Upton House and gardens has a distinctive topography with its steep decent through a series of
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terraces to a mirror pool. The 17 C garden of Sir Rushout Cullen son of a City merchant is still dis-
cernible today the remnants being the main lawn and terracing on the south facing slope and what
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were a series of stew ponds, that now form the mirror pool. In Upton’s history at the end of 12 C
it was held by the Arden family, the estate changed ownership to the Verney’s who in 1452 and
styled a manor, then passing onto Richard Dalby and onto
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Sir William Danvers at the end 15 C when a house was built, the next 2o years the estate was
owned by the Arden’s of Tysoe. The builder of the house
Sir Rushout Cullen. Bt purchased Upton at some point before 1695; Cullen had no children and the
estate was bought in 1757 by William Bumstead who lived at Upton house between 1730 and
1757, and most likely planted the fine group of Ceders of Lebanon. Bumstead, sold the estate on to
Francis Child head of one of the major banking dynasties.
The following owners were the Earl’s of Jersey, and in 1894 to Mr Andrew Motion. Lord and Lady
Bearstead to the opportunity to purchase Upton House in 1927 the property came onto the mar-
ket, Upton became the epitome of the 1930’s fashion and life style.
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William Samuel 2 Lord Bearstead {1885-1948}, was known as a serious Art collector and philan-
thropist, his father had founded the Shell Oil company in the growth of oil industry after 1900 in
tandem with the family shipping and banking interests.

The existing house was remodelled in 1927-28 by the Architect Morley Holder {1870-1944}. Morley
Holder worked on the existing gardens and main terrace.
Lady Bearsted and her garden designer Kitti Lloyd-Jones collaborated with a local Stone mason to
create the flight of Italianate steps in order to link top terrace to the series of descending terraces
and mirror pool lawns thereby taking full advantage of the south facing elevation. The desire to
create the sense of the 18thC was a novel feature of taste in the 1920’s, but one that became uni-
versal throughout society and was equally popular in the USA with a distinctive interpretation on
the theme.
The view chosen for the composition is from the first terrace, under the main lawn ‘ha-ha’, and
takes in the grand flight of steps descending to the lower gardens.
The two female figures allude to those times when Lady Bearsted and Kitti Lloyd- Jones were plan-
ning the gardens and the general ambience of the time. The mirror pond and north grazing mead-
ows can be seen through the nearby tree. The under planting of Lavender takes one’s graze to the
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18 C Ceders of Lebanon trees planted by William Bumstead.
Kitti Lloyd - Jones Borders, Summer Borders,
Upton House near Banbury, Warwickshire.

Oil on panel inches