The Oak Panelling

The magnificent oak panelling installed in the vestibule, halls, and galleries are attributed to Grinling Gibbons 1648—1720, the famous wood carver and sculptor. There is uncertainty as to whether he was Dutch or English, but the most famous work attributed to him is in England. By an intriguing series of events the panelling at Hursley originally came from Winchester College Chapel: the panels were removed from the chapel on the supposed instruction of the architect Butterfield in 1874-5, in the hope of revealing fine stonework and masonry of the fifteenth century. Unfortunately the hopes of the architect were not realised and interest in the chapel interior appears then to have waned. The whole mass of carved oak was left in a heap outside for some considerable time exposed to the weather. No interest was taken in the panelling until a former scholar (who later became a bishop) paid £60 and took it to his home, planning to use it in his private chapel. His plan never materialised, and eventually a neighbour became the owner of the panelling and just stored it. When the neighbour died, the panelling got into the hands of dealers, and it is from a dealer that Mr Cooper is said to have bought it for £30,000. The best of the panelling was then installed in the vestibule and main hall of Hursley Park House, the plainer panels being used in the east and west halls and galleries.

After the Second World War it had become apparent that the House would not be used again as a private residence. This led to the decision by Captain Sir George Cooper to donate the panelling to Winchester College, who used it in their New Hall in about 1960.