The client was Sir John Chester, the main architect was Francis Smith of Warwick and the architectural style is Baroque.

[2] The house then descended in the Chester family to the time of the English Civil War, when it was shelled by Parliamentary forces and eventually demolished.

All that remains of the old manor house is one Jacobean over-mantel with termini caryatids, and some panelling in the new Chicheley Hall.

[6] The house was often attributed to the architect Thomas Archer,[4] but more recent research suggests Francis Smith,[3] who is thought to have designed it for Sir John Chester, 4th Baronet.

Before dying of his injuries he bequeathed all of his estates, including Chicheley, to a distant relative and school friend, Charles Bagot, on condition he adopted the name of Chester.

After his death the estate descended to the unmarried Charles Anthony Chester and from 1883 was again rented out to a series of tenants for the next 70 years.

[8] In 1911, the Hall was rented by Sir George Farrar, a Randlord who made his fortune in gold in South Africa, and his wife Ella.

[13] Harboard's classical colour schemes accentuating moulding and panelling perfectly suit the house.

[16] Chicheley Hall was operated by De Vere Venues until June 2020, when it closed 'permanently' following (initially) a temporary closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Writing in Country Life, Penny Churchill noted that the Royal Society had restored the mansion and converted the stable block to a hotel with 48 bedrooms and a conference centre.

[4] The main door opens to a fine panelled Great Hall, in the manner of William Kent with a classical double-height ceiling depicting Herse and her sisters sacrificing to Flora.