Youlbury House

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Youlbury House is a Grade II listed modernist home near Boars Hill in Oxfordshire, England. Set in 9.6 acres of woods and gardens, it was built between 1969 and 1971 as a weekend home for William Goodhart, a leading barrister and Liberal Democrat peer. The house was designed by Hal Moggridge with structural engineering by Ove Arup & Partners. It is one of Moggridge’s few residential works and is noted for its minimalist style and strong connection to the surrounding woodland.

The site sits on land with a longer history. It was once the Victorian estate of archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, who built the original Youlbury house in 1893 and laid out gardens with lakes, paths, and garden structures. Evans collected artefacts that later went to the Ashmolean Museum. After World War I, a war memorial and a Peace Path were added to the grounds. Evans died in 1941, and the old house was eventually sold and fell into disrepair. In 1966, Goodhart bought part of the land and commissioned a new house.

Moggridge’s design sits on a sloping site and uses concrete floors on precast columns, western red cedar cladding, and a single load-bearing wall to anchor the interior. The interior is organized around a diagonal, kinked hallway that brings in light. The six-bedroom house includes a dramatic double-height drawing room above a master suite and a large south-facing playroom. The kitchen and dining area are on the entrance level. The living room features a curved Parana pine ceiling with built-in ash furnishings and a warm, integrated lighting and heating system. Large aluminium-framed windows and skylights maximize daylight and forest views. The front façade was originally planned to be mostly glass, but the design was revised to balance brightness with privacy.

Youlbury House was designated Grade II listed in July 2009 for its architectural and historic interest as a late-1960s/early-1970s modernist residence. It is regarded as an important example of its era and as Moggridge’s most substantial early commission.