Upton House is a country house in the civil parish of Ratley and Upton, in the English county of Warwickshire, about 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Banbury, Oxfordshire. It is in the care of the National Trust.

Upton is a long low house built of local yellow sandstone. It was considerably expanded from 1927-1929 for the 2nd Viscount Bearsted by Morley Horder who retained the Carolean style appearance of the exterior while introducing some art déco elements in the interior, particularly in the bathroom for Lady Bearsted, where the walls are covered in aluminium leaf. The style of interiors at Upton has been described by art critic Osbert Lancaster as Curzon Street Baroque.

A main attraction of Upton is the garden. A lawn, with huge cedar trees, sweeps gently down from the house and below is an extensive terraced garden. The garden features a kitchen garden, a series of herbaceous borders and a large lake with water lilies in a small valley. The terracing, unseen from the house and on a first visit unsuspected, contains the National Collection of Asters. In use since the 12th century, the gardens were largely transformed by Kitty Lloyd-Jones for Lady Bearsted in the 1920s and 1930s, including the creation of a rare Bog Garden on the site of medieval fish ponds.

Perhaps uniquely among country houses owned by the National Trust, its significance lies principally in its art collection. The house is presented more as an art gallery than as a private home, although care has been taken to restore the house to how it looked in the 1930s. It contains a unique art deco bathroom and a collection of early Shell advertising posters, together with some of their original artwork, by such artists as Rex Whistler.

The collection was assembled by Lord Bearsted, helped by his being a Trustee of the National Gallery. Lord Bearsted’s sister Nellie Inonides also became an avid collector. The collection at Upton includes English and Continental old masters: Tiepolo, Anthony Devis, Francesco Guardi, Jan Steen, Melchior de Hondecoeter, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, Tintorettoand Rogier van der Weyden.

Text taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_House,_Warwickshire

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Upton House and Gardens, near Banbury, Warwickshire OX15 6HT