At Risk

Caldwell House – a nearly-lost Adam classic

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat1 Comment
Caldwell House, Scotland (Image: intriguing_rly@livejournal)

Sometimes houses suffer in so many ways and yet, despite their eventual condition, it’s still possible to imagine them being restored to something approaching their former glory.  Caldwell House near Paisley in Scotland is definitely one that would require a purchaser with deep pockets and a slightly cavalier approach to budgeting – but they would be rescuing a classic house by the famous Scottish architect Robert Adam.

In 1773, Baron Mure of Caldwell commissioned Adam to design a grand home for him. For Adam it was to be the last of the ‘castle’ houses he designed, a style he’d started with at Ugbrooke House in Devon (1760s) and Mellerstain House in Berwickshire (1770).

It remained the family home of the Mures until 1909.  In the 1920s the House was sold to Glasgow Corporation and became a hospital for mentally handicapped children. The institutional changes were severe and included the removal of the main staircase to accomodate a lift shaft and the addition of numerous poor-quality outbuildings.  After the hospital closed in 1985 the usual pattern of neglect and vandalism set in, with a major fire in 1995 resulting in serious damage to the interiors and the loss of the roof.  In spite of being a Grade A listed building, it is now empty and has sadly been neglected and allowed to decay and has been on the Scottish Civic Trust’s Buildings at Risk register for some years.

As this shocking set of photos show, the house is now in a terrible condition.  However, the shell still evocative and it’s rural location would ensure privacy and so ought not to be written off yet.  Perhaps the family motto of the Mures – “Duris Non Frangar”, which means, “not to be broken by adversity” – would be an appropriate one to bear in mind when taking on this monumental restoration.

Are you restoring a country house?

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Country houses are always popular subjects for TV programme and can be a great way of highlighting the good work done by so many hard-pressed owners (or even those not so hard-pressed!).  They can also provide an unrivalled opportunity to attract interest in houses in need of some care and attention. The BBC is searching for owners restoring decaying country houses for a new series.  Ideally, the families would have historic links with the property and would demonstrate the challenge of preserving their house in the context of 21st century demands.

If you think you and property fit the bill, contact Katherine Phillips at Endemol either by phone on 0333 577 7740 or email homes@endemoluk.com

Good news for Brook House?

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Brook House, Essex

A new development in the long running saga of Brook House in Tiptree, Essex has opened the possibility for some good news.  As had been reported here before, the lovely red-brick house in the heart of Tiptree was subject to an application to demolish from the owner who claimed that it was beyond repair.

However, photos taken recently show that the house is actually in very good condition and pressure from heritage organisations such as SAVE Britain’s Heritage have led to a spotlight being shone on the plans. 

It’s now been reported that the application has been withdrawn.  It’s the slow, piecemeal loss of fine houses such as this over the last fifty years which has left our towns all the poorer visually. Hopefully there will now be discussions where the starting premise is that the house should be restored as an important part of Tiptree’s architectural heritage.

Call for country houses to get tax breaks

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 The Historic Houses Association have highlighted that there is an estimated backlog of repairs totalling £390m.  In recognition of local and sometimes national importance of these houses and their role in stimulating local economic activity, Edward Harley, president of the HHA has urged politicians to provide sympathetic tax breaks and also to allow those house with significiant public benefit to be allowed to apply for lottery funds.

Full story: ‘Country house owners ‘need tax breaks and lottery funds’‘ [Daily Telegraph]

Castle Drogo under seige – from rain

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat1 Comment
Castle Drogo, Devon (Image: wikipedia)

The last castle to be built in the UK, Castle Drogo, occupies a commanding position far up the Teign Gorge in Devon.  Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and built in the 1910s and 1920s and finally finished in 1931 for the wealthy businessman Julius Drewe, the Grade-I listed house is a brilliant modern interpretation of a castle combined with the comforts of a country house.

It was also one of the last houses to be built entirely in granite, the local stone of the area.  The grey stone and the clever massing of towers and wings give the house a solid, impregnable air but the house is under attack from the elements, with rain penetration causing serious concern.  The many flat roofs hidden behind the battlements started causing problems only two years after the house was finished and ever since it has been a constant battle to keep the house watertight.

House manager Bryher Mason told BBC News: “I wouldn’t be surprised to walk into a room one morning and find a section of the ceiling having fallen in because the metalwork in the ceiling has failed.”

The National Trust, who have cared for it since it was handed to them in 1974, have instigated a restoration and repair programme on the many roofs, which will include the replacement of all 13,000 window panes, and has been estimated to cost £10m, and will be completed by 2016.

Full story: ‘Leaking castle needs £10m repairs‘ [bbc.co.uk]