Bilton Hall, Church Walk, Bilton

1 Mainly 1623 incorporating some 16th century fabric. Red brick with sandstone dressings. Built for Edward Boughton of Lawford (monument in Newbold church). 2 storeys and attics. Joseph Addison, poet and essayist, lived here 1711-19; his widow, the Countess of Warwick, died here 1731.
2 It appears to have been of H-plan though successive alterations have made its exact form difficult to determine. It was added to in 1623 and partially rebuilt in the early 18th century and again rather more than a century later. The house is noted for its association with Joseph Addison and in the garden are the former entrance gates erected by him and bearing his initials and the monogram of his wife Charlotte, Countess of Warwick. They were moved to their present position in 1830.
3 The building is also associated with Charles Apperley, the famous sporting writer “Nimrod”, who leased the hall in the early 19th century.
4 The building is now converted into flats, and slightly dilapidated, with cement rendering repairs.
5 In the grounds is a weeping willow originally at the grave of Napoleon and probably brought from St Helena by his surgeon Barry O’Meara who as the third husband of Theodosia Boughton, lived at the hall.