A Cultural Tragedy: “Our English Country Homes are grim; they are quickly becoming too awful for the coronet set. Dukes, Baronets, and Earls must use buckets to catch rain dripping through the roofs. They shiver in front of electric fires because the central heating is faulty.” – Rodger Todd in an article published by the Daily Mirror, 1974.
Heritage enthusiasts globally cherish English Country Homes. The exceptional appearance and extravagance of them are the main appeal, with little thought going into those behind the funding, the upkeep, and the maintenance of the buildings in question. 2,000 English homes have been demolished since 1800.
Reasons for Destruction
Reasons for loss (destruction of English Country Houses Book): The reason for such a loss typically falls to funding difficulties. Many wealthy individuals who found themselves the new owner of these incredible estates would stumble upon the impossible tasks of looking after these properties. Keeping them “on par with museum standards of presentation, conservation and restoration” (p. 9 The Destruction of the Country House).
New eras are accompanied by heightened threats and with the incline in Art theft these buildings were prone to robbery. Many owners felt as though this was a responsibility that they didn’t want on their shoulders. So there are hundreds of cases of abandonment. Leaving the homes open to the elements, and eventually prone to demolition.
What Happened to the Interiors?
What happened to the interiors? The most important question is what was the fate of the interiors of such wealth ridden estates? Looking into catalogues of demolition auctions gives a small insight into where these antiques may have ended up. To estimate their journeys today would be almost impossible with the movement of the Antique trade being as popular as it is and was. Refer to picture of the ‘Catalogue of all the Materials of the Dwelling-Houfe, Out-Houfes of His Grace James Duke of Chandos’. Taken from Mr Cock’s Canons, Edgware demolition catalogue. As well, there is a leaflet for Pratt, Son & Sons.
We have sourced hundreds of historic architecture which has been sold globally from America to Australia. This allows us to see first hand how far the interiors of these homes have gone. Below are some our items which were one prominent features of English Country homes and Castles. And today, are located in our showrooms in Hereford.
A Shift in Attitude
There became a shift of attitudes to the once spectator sport of demolishing homes. Later, 50 million people would go on to visit 600 stately homes in Britain by 1992. This was a result of the role of the National Trust. The Trust commends itself for being “Committed to promoting and preserving those places of natural beauty and historic interest for which it has the privilege to be responsible for the benefit of the nation, for everyone for ever.” Founded on 12th January 1895 by Octavia Hill the growth of the business saw people such as Beatrix Potter donate to funds supporting causes. Causes such as the Lake District Heritage Work.
The recognition of English Country Homes and the pressing need to salvage them was big amongst the National Trust. “The trust sees itself as providing a solution for special circumstances, offering a life-line which owners may grasp when problems of taxation and management appear.” Says Robin Fedden.
UK Heritage’s Salvaged Antiques
At UK Architectural Heritage, we have sourced some items that once were prominent features of some of these incredible English Country Homes. Items include a pair of James Gibbs designed Sphinxes, once seated at the entrance of High Head Castle, Cumberland. The earliest known record of this house is 1272, with later adaptions including our Gibbs’ Sphinxes. In the 1950s the house was devastatingly destroyed by a fire. Now only the outer walls and cellar remain. Its future lies with the current owner.
Another impressive building destroyed by a fire in 1718 is Lowther Castle. In 1691 The original medieval building was torn down and replaced with a grand Jacobean residence. Robert Smirke was commissioned to rebuilt the place in 1806 into a medieval castle incorporating the earlier ruined house. our panelling was salvaged from the Castle and taken out in 1992. They are predicted to have been dated from 1806-1814, when the castle was rebuild by Smirke. Social changes had forced the castle to close in 1936, and the garden was paved with concrete and used as part of the military in WW2 for secret tank testing.
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