tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post8088266320239034521..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: Coleshill, BerkshirePhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-2678593956604585812010-07-03T04:28:58.366+01:002010-07-03T04:28:58.366+01:00I enjoyed that series, although I don't think ...I enjoyed that series, although I don't think I saw it in full, as we were either living abroad or about to do so. It is rewarding to see that one of Adam's masterpieces (Mavisbank) is being restored, and good that the public see the merit in doing so.columnisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03764365428633038329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-38346258501522800512010-07-02T12:12:32.615+01:002010-07-02T12:12:32.615+01:00The decade or so after World War II was the worst ...The decade or so after World War II was the worst time for country houses. Hundreds were demolished, mainly because their owners could no longer afford their upkeep. The architectural loss was chronicled in the V&A's wonderful but depressing Destruction of the Country House in 1974, after which many of the still-vulnerable houses were saved, either for occupation (as apartments etc) or by the National Trust. But there were still some that fell through the safety net or that remain at risk. I remember Scotland's Mavisbank House from my involvement with the Restoration series, one terrible example of a major house all but destroyed by its owner.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-74507377182756186462010-07-02T11:41:20.151+01:002010-07-02T11:41:20.151+01:00What a terrible shame to have lost such a beauty. ...What a terrible shame to have lost such a beauty. I have in my library two "books", (one more of a pamphlet really) published by Save Britain's Heritage in 1990. One is "Scotland's Endangered Houses" and was co-authored by my then neighbour in Edinburgh's New Town. I suspect many of the houses have since completely fallen down, (literally). Some of them were staggeringly large, and would find no one owner occupier in today's world, but I think many could have been saved and redeveloped into very good subdivided accommodation, within beautiful parkland.columnisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03764365428633038329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-43045731726463390072010-07-02T06:22:31.035+01:002010-07-02T06:22:31.035+01:00I think much of the English town and country lands...I think much of the English town and country landscape it dotted with evidence of once-great houses. Often it's in a road name. Near where I live there is an 'Overton Drive' (in Wanstead) which once led up to Wanstead House. There a fine pair of gate-posts (I suppose I should say piers) at the cross roads where Overton Drive begins.bazzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14794010156639774028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-67864703754735105882010-06-30T12:16:50.511+01:002010-06-30T12:16:50.511+01:00Many thanks, David. I've not been to Hamstead ...Many thanks, David. I've not been to Hamstead Marshall so it sounds as if I'm due a trip.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-31656133593733739302010-06-30T11:56:49.690+01:002010-06-30T11:56:49.690+01:00Very enjoyable post, as usual.
I haven't been...Very enjoyable post, as usual.<br /><br />I haven't been there for a couple of decades so my memory is slightly hazy, but I think that in the burnt-down-houses-with-surviving-gate-piers stakes Hamstead Marshall, Berkshire, takes some beating. The house burnt down 300 years ago, but about half a dozen pairs of gate piers survive, all (or perhaps nearly all) visible from the churchyard; a surreal sight.David Gouldstonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-33290395982582257492010-06-29T16:12:43.158+01:002010-06-29T16:12:43.158+01:00Thank you, Toby. The whole subject of lost country...Thank you, Toby. The whole subject of lost country houses, as documented in various books, and in that famous V&A exhibition in the 1970s, is fascinating and poignant.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-27955997264682657702010-06-29T15:51:18.295+01:002010-06-29T15:51:18.295+01:00I was familiar with the interiors of Coleshill thr...I was familiar with the interiors of Coleshill through<br />various books on the subject of lost houses but had never seen those piers before now. They are superb.<br />And they make more poignant the loss of that <br />remarkable house.<br />Many thanks for this post.Toby Worthingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887066048372484464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-22885882412906534462010-06-29T10:26:33.173+01:002010-06-29T10:26:33.173+01:00Along the road, nearer the village of Coleshill, i...Along the road, nearer the village of Coleshill, is a pair of less ornate piers with a gate lodge. I'm not sure of the date of the lodge, but maybe it's later than the more ornate piers in my picture.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-84756191620377614652010-06-29T10:15:08.285+01:002010-06-29T10:15:08.285+01:00Mmm. Big, ornate gate piers. I've got a thing ...Mmm. Big, ornate gate piers. I've got a thing about them. There was, I think, a move in the late seventeenth century in favour of them as opposed to building gate lodges. See also Honington and Fonthill.Peter Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00027878122724846472noreply@blogger.com