buildings at risk

Drop added to ocean – grant to Hafodunos Hall

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat2 Comments
Hafodunos Hall, Denbighshire (Image: SnakeCorp on flickr)

When idiot arsonists set light to grade-I listed Hafodunos Hall in 2004 they largely destroyed one of not only North Wales’ best country houses but also one of Sir George Gilbert Scott’s finest works.  Built in 1861-6 at a cost of £30,000 for Henry R. Sandbach, son of Samuel Sandbach, a Liverpool merchant and shipowner who had bought the original, 17th-century house in 1831.  Hafodunos was also designed with Sandbach’s collection of sculpture including works by John Gibson (1790-1866) which were incorporated into the walls and left exposed after the fire (but now removed for safe-keeping).

So a glorious house by one of the greatest Victorian architects which featured some of his trademark interiors including decorated doors, ribbed ceilings and fine chimneypieces was reduced to a burnt out shell and has remained as such despite attempts to sell the house and begin restoration.  As the house continues to deteriorate efforts have been made to limit the damage through grants.  The latest from Cadw (the Welsh version of English Heritage) is for £21,000 to pay for emergency work to stabilise the structure – which if you look at this gallery on flickr you’ll see is a drop in the ocean compared to total required for full restoration.  However, any work is positive so hopefully this will help preserve what remains until a more secure future for the house can be found.

Full story: ‘Heritage cash boost for Denbighshire landmarks‘ [Denbighshire Visitor]

Shaw House restoration shortlisted for award

Matthew Beckett - The Country SeatLeave a comment
Shaw House, Berkshire (Image: Newbury Today)

The restoration of the grade-I listed Shaw House in Newbury, which had previously been on the English Heritage ‘Buildings at Risk’ register , has been shortlisted for 2010 Civic Trust Awards.

Shaw House was built in 1581 for Thomas Dolman,  a local cloth maker, whose family lived in the house for six generations until 1728.  It was subsequently the country retreat of the Duke of Chandos, before being being home to the Andrews and Farquhar families until it eventually requisitioned for use by troops in WWII, before it then became a school.

The £6m project rescued the house from disuse and neglect after it ceased to be a school in 1985.  As part of the project, inappropriate modern additions to the house were removed, and repairs made using traditional materials.  The house is now open for visitors and events giving new life to this beautiful house.

Full story: ‘House up for architectural award‘ [BBC News] / ‘Shaw House up for national award‘ [Newbury Today]

Holnest Park House seriously damaged by fire – may collapse

Matthew Beckett - The Country SeatLeave a comment
Holnest Park House, Dorset (Image: Bournemouth Echo)

Earlier today, the Grade-II listed Holnest Park House in Dorset suffered a serious fire which has gutted the central section of the house leaving the core at risk of collapse.  The fire started in one of the seven flats through the careless use of an electric blanket which lacked a thermostat and simply heated up until it caught fire.  The fire destroyed the two flats in the central section but the 60 firemen in attendance were able to prevent the blaze spreading to the wings.

The Georgian house was built in 1768, and rebuilt in the 1830s, on land formerly owned by the Bishops of Salisbury. It became a secondary seat of the Sawbridge-Erle-Drax family through marriage, and so was regularly tenented as the family were mainly based at Charborough Park (a large house also in Dorset) and Olantigh Towers in Kent.

The house was sold in 1919 and then used as military hospital for injured servicemen during WWII.  It was subsequently sold to timber merchants who stripped the park of it’s fine trees even felling the avenue to the house, and then selling the land off for agriculture.  The house then became an island in the middle of the fields, neglected until someone decided to ill-advisedly convert this remote house into a nightclub.  The left-hand side was divided up and much damage done to the interior during this process.  The right-hand side became (or was) houses.  After the inevitable failure of the nightclub the rest of the house was converted into further apartments.

Fire is one of the most worrying dangers faced by country houses as they can be started so easily, especially during renovations, and due to the materials used in construction the fire can spread quickly.  Of course, this danger is increased where a house has been split into multiple apartments as there are now more sources of ignition such as kitchens.  Older houses are usually not fitted with many of the modern fire safety features as this would compromise the historic fabric of the building meaning there is a extra responsibility for the owners to be vigilant.

Although the intial reports indicate that the fire-damaged section of the house has been declared structurally unsafe,  it’s hoped that restoration will be possible.  Insurance can cover the cost of re-instatement but it can’t bring back the historical aspect of what’s been lost.

Full story: ‘Fire hit Dorset stately home at risk of collapsing‘ [BBC News] / ‘Fire at stately home caused by electric blanket‘ [Bournemouth Echo]

Pell Well Hall finally sold – but will buyer finish the job?

Matthew Beckett - The Country SeatLeave a comment
Pell Well Hall (Image from Strutt & Parker)

After abandonment, institutional use, and a serious fire, there is finally some good news for Pell Well Hall.  It’s reported that an offer has been accepted and finally the house can move to what will hopefully be the final stages of restoration.   Originally with an asking price of £750,000 the offer accepted was £550,000 – but with estimated costs of between £2m – £5m to complete the restoration.

With such a huge project and the need for significant financing, the hope is that the new purchaser will complete the work sooner rather than later.  However, after neglect and fire the original interior has been entirely lost meaning that in many senses this is a recreation rather than a strict restoration.  Perhaps leaving some evidence of this sad state would be an honest approach – and heaven forbid that the interior ends up as just some identikit footballers Surrey mansion.  This a special house and deserves a careful hand on the design and budget.

Full story: ‘New owner for historic hall as offer accepted‘ [Shropshire Star]

‘Beauty – but at what price?‘ [Daily Telegraph]

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.