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Summary

Unlisted later 19th century country house, used in the 21st century as the headquarters of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Monument Type(s):

• COUNTRY HOUSE (Mid to Late 19th century to Late 19th century - 1862 AD to 1900 AD?)
• OFFICE (Late 20th century - Present to Early 21st century - 1989 AD? to 2050 AD)

Full Description

The Victoria County History of 1923 described Hillfields as 'a modern red and blue brick gabled house with a slate roof' <1>; Murray's Guide <2> gives its architect as Walter Scott of Liverpool and its date of construction as 1862. The revised Pevsner <3> describes it as 'Parsonage Gothic and not at all bland'. It was purchased in 1989 by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association to be used as their headquarters <8>. The two storey building is predominantly of grey brick with red dressings. It has had several extensions and alterations.

Information from Reading Museum <4> notes that Hillfields was commissioned in 1861 by Horatio Bland. He was a wealthy merchant who had been born in Canada but had traded guano and other products from South America. By the 1840s Bland had moved to England and in 1847 he married Emily Cherry, the oldest daughter of the Rector of Burghfield. The Blands' first home was Culverlands but Horatio also owned land on Burghfield Common where Walter Scott (married to Horatio's niece) designed Hillfields. It was constructed at a cost of £2,961.

Bland had collected many artefacts on his global travels, and created a purpose-built museum in an outbuilding at Hillfields. Emily Bland died in 1868 whilst on an expedition to the Holy Land, leading to a local school being built and named after her by her husband in 1872. In 1874 Horatio built a new museum next to the school for his growing collection. After his death in 1876 the artefacts were transferred to Reading Museum by his nephew Thomas Bland Garland, who had moved into Hillfields a few years earlier. Bland Garland's involvement in Poor Law Reform brought him into close contact with Henry George Willink <8>, who bought the mansion and its large estate when they were put up for sale in 1892 <5>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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