Bowden House, previously called both "Bowden Green" and "Port Jackson", is an English country house. It is a historic Grade II* listed building. The house is located southwest of Pangbourne, Berkshire.
History
Entrance Front, 1898
The house was originally called "Bowden Green" and was built between 1897 and 1898 by architect Arnold Bidlake Mitchell (1863–1944)[1] for the engineer of the Forth Bridge, Sir Benjamin Baker.[2]
When the unmarried Baker died in 1907, the property went to his niece, Mona Spagnoletti, née Kemp, and her husband James Spagnoletti, the son of inventor Charles Spagnoletti, who were already living with Baker.
An addition was made to the west end of the house in around 1910, containing a billiards room.[2]
At a later point, Pangbourne College acquired the property and used it as a junior school and dormitory, called "Port Jackson".
In 2003 the school built a new building on their main campus to house Port Jackson and offered the house for sale.[3]
Architecture
The house's style is variously described as Domestic Revival,[2]Arts and Crafts, and Vernacular Revival.[4] The exterior is brick, with shaped tiles on the first floor and a multitude of gables.[4] Some of the bay windows are in hamstone.[2]
The "well preserved, cleverly planned interior"[2] contains significant Art Nouveau decorations, including gilded friezes in the hall and dining room.[3] There are De Morgan tiles surrounding the drawing room fireplace.[2]
The property had extensive outbuildings, some of which remain, including the Grade II listed octagonal Fowl-House.[5]
