Sphinx Hill in Wallingfgord, Oxfordshire
(Picture: Knight Frank)An “intriguing” postmodern property, known locally as “The Egyptian House” and designed by renowned architect John Outram, is currently on the market for £2.5 million.
Located in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Sphinx Hill was commissioned by its current owners, Christopher McCall, a Chancery QC, and Henrietta McCall, an Egyptologist who works at the British Museum.
Drawing on Egyptian iconographic traditions and arranged symmetrically in parallel to the Thames, the four-bedroom, 3,592 square foot house is “a work of art for living in”, says Christopher.
As Henrietta’s specialism, the McCalls had developed an interest in Egyptian revival and had undertaken commissions previously. “
Jokingly, I said: ‘If we want to take this seriously, we better commission a house’,” says Christopher.
After comparing notes on buildings they liked, they approached Outram as the architect, famous for his postmodern style, use of colour and bold gestures.
Outram designed, for example, the Grade II-listed Storm Water Pumping Station on the Isle of Dogs and the Grade I-listed New House at Wadhurst Park, Sussex.
“John has a great sense of humour, and a lot of the design in the house, although serious, is often quite funny.”
Playful touches include zigzag tiles in the shower, which mimic the falling water, and the house’s scarab beetle door handles.
The unusual roofline consists of three intersecting arcs (and includes a roof terrace).
“I wanted to see if we could build something that wasn’t the same as a normal roofline,” says Christopher. “It isn’t a severe building, and I like that.”
Like Outram’s other designs, Sphinx Hill is a colourful building, inside and out. They are warm, natural colours with Egyptian references, such as orange sun discs on the outside of the building, and a moulding of a red sun emerging over a black mountain.
In fact, the only patch of white is the ceiling of Christopher’s study, which he says he’d now change, if given the chance.
“The colours are important – they have become enormously rewarding,” he says. “The colour scheme is now perhaps the thing we like most about the house.”
In total, it took 18 months to design and build the house, which was finished in 1999. Christopher and Henrietta McCall have lived there since – initially commuting from their London flat where they spent the weekdays, and moving to Sphinx Hill full-time in 2010.
“It is slightly theatrical — though not as hard to live on as a stage would be,” says Christopher. “It’s theatrical in the sense that it’s very slightly fantastical. You do sort of sit and dream.”
Other highlights of the house include the swimming pavilion, with its black-tiled pool, gold and blue columns and midnight blue vaulted ceiling.
The sitting room, meanwhile, is set beneath a barrel-vaulted ceiling, with freestanding columns and a gas fire in the centre, covered by a glass pyramid. Above, there are two circular windows which open mechanically to ventilate the room in the summer.
The formal garden features a symmetrical arrangement of rectangular pools around a central cascade, leading on to the river. By the property’s private mooring, there is a wild garden, presided by two sphinxes.
“We have a flood plain opposite, which is bordered by some willow trees. The sun goes down behind the house, but it lights up those willow trees in the most magical way,” says Christopher.
“Sometimes, when there’s a thunderstorm and you get a rainbow, there are brilliant colours on the trees. We just have to scratch ourselves and think: are we in the theatre?”
With a roof terrace and four reception rooms, the house has been used to entertain over the past 23 years. When the McCalls’ friends first saw it, Christopher says that that there was an audible gasp.
At first, they would also notice passing cars stopping to look at the property.
Now, the couple, who are 78 and 74, are downsizing to Henley-upon-Thames and looking to pass on their unique home.
Ideally, Christopher says, it would go to someone who “enjoys the work of art for living in. It is not an ordinary family house. It’s a very comfortable house which has enormous artistic strength. We want someone who will enjoy the architecture.”
“It has given us well over twenty years of joy,” he adds. “It’s been a paradise for us, so we leave with very heavy hearts.”
