Lost Country Houses of England

The Lost Heritage website is a memorial to the lost country houses of England and is the dedicated work of one man, who’s fascination with these great buildings has brought them to our attention.

It has been said that Britain’s greatest contribution to the history of architecture is that of our country houses. Millions of people every year visit the stately homes that either through good fortune, wise management, the National Trust or sheer good luck managed to avoid demolition.

Hopefully by highlighting those we have already lost, we will appreciate more those that remain, and fight harder to save those under threat.

As a nation we are now proud of these monuments to our past. However, many didn’t survive. Whilst some houses are inevitably lost to urban development and fire, in a previous, less conservation-minded age, the greatest danger was that there were few limits as to what the owners did with their properties.

Houses which had been passed down through many years, and the associated family collections, could be lost within a generation.

The site lists over 1700 of the many significant English country houses which have been demolished or severely reduced. Though it mainly focuses on those lost since 1800, houses which were lost before then may also appear in the list.

A majority of those listed would now be classified as Grade I, Grade II* or II – but others have been also included where they were likely to be of importance within a local area. These houses range in style from the smaller manor houses to the Classical mansions to the vast Victorian Gothic palaces.

The aim is to list and provide an ‘architectural biography’ comprising a full history including who built the house, when and why it was demolished and to have an image of the house – be it a photo or a print.

The list also uses the county names and geographical boundaries from before the 1972 local government re-organisation which removed or significantly altered many of the historic counties.

Much of the research and documentation relating to the houses naturally refers to the pre-1972 boundaries, locations and names.

If you have any information or images which you feel would be useful for this important database, then contact Matt at lostheritage.org

Visit the Lost Heritage website

All Saints Church, Cockermouth

All Saints Church has an elevated, commanding view over Cockermouth main street.  The original 14th century church was considered ‘the most ancient and beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture in the North of England’.  However, some suggest that a church has been on this site since the 11th Century, thought to have been erected by Waltheof of Allerdale.

This church was replaced in 1711 by what is described as a “plain building”. Following a fire which destroyed the church in 1850, and a third church was built in the Early English style in 1854.

All Saints spire can be seen from outlaying villages, reaching a height of 180 feet, with exceptional carving of the pillar capitals. The church tower, designed by Mr. Joseph Clarke, architect, of London, contains a peal of six bells, and a clock and chimes by J. Blacklock, of Carlisle.

A Bible and Prayer Book from the dedication ceremony in 1854 are preserved and on display within the church.  The skillfully worked pulpit and font are made of Caen stone.

Fine examples of Victorian stained glass
The east window was erected by subscription in 1853 by John Hardman as a memorial window to William Wordsworth who was baptised here, and whose father John is buried in the churchyard. It consists of five lights and a head, filled in with tracery. The window is extremely rich in Scriptural subjects and symbolism.

On the south side are four memorial windows dedicated to Eldred Green, the vicar from 1874 to 1881, erected by his family and public subscription.

Songs of Praise
On February 21st, BBC Songs of Praise will come from All Saints Church and Sally Magnusson visited Cumbria to talk to

those people whose lives were been turned upside down by the November floods and see the work to rebuild Cockermouth town centre and recover the roads and bridges of the town and outlaying villages.

All Saints Church renaissance appeal website
The aim is to transform the interior of this important Wordsworth Church into a major community facility as well as an inspiring spiritual centre.

The Saints Rooms have already redefined the standards for West Cumbrian social venues. Refurbishing Cockermouth’s ‘cathedral’ will create a vibrant cultural centre.

More information
About Cockermouth – Cumbria Travel Guide
19th Century history of Cockermouth All Saints Church - Images of Cumbria website
Cockermouth gravestone inscriptions recorded - Article on Gravestonepix.com

Arthuret Church, Cumbria

Arthuret Parish Church also known as St Michael and All Angels, dominates the hillside in the village, about half a mile from Longtown. Said to be the resting place of the legendary King Arthur, the present gothic style church was erected in 1609, during the reign of King James I.

The site is known to have had a church since the 6th Century AD, often laid to ruins by the invading Scots Border Raiders.

This church was built as a result of a national fund raising to benefit the parishioners, who mainly rejecting Christ’s teachings and were considered to be “without faith”.  This, at this time, was the debatable lands of the Border Reiver.

During construction, the custodian of the collected funds absconded with a considerable sum. With resources weakened, the tower was left unfinished and was not completed until 1690 when Dr. Todd took over rectorship of the church.

The church tower stones are unusual in that many of them have masons marks which are clearly visible.

The main church building consists of nave, chancel, aisles, and tower. In 1750 it was re-roofed, slated, and flagged by the Hon. Mary Graham.

1868 saw a complete restoration costing about £1,000.  This was when the new east window was inserted in memory of the late Sir J.R.G. Graham, Bart. His monogram can be seen in the upper portion of the window.

In 1896 a new organ was installed and the chancel restored and fitted with oak stalls at a total cost of about £1,500, which was raised by subscripion.

The Graham Family
In the church are eleven monuments and tablets to members of the Graham family; Sir George Graham, Bart., who died in 1657 and the Rev. Robert Graham, D.D., who died in 1782. There is also a memorial plaque to the Right Hon. Sir J.R.G. Graham, Bart., M.P., who died at Netherby on 25th October, 1861.

In the churchyard is the tomb of Lieut. William Graham, who served the crown of England from the reigns of Elizabeth I to Charles II.

An ancient cross with pierced capital, in the form of a Maltese cross, is thought to have been erected by one of the Knights of Malta.

Nearby is said to be the unmarked grave of Archie Armstrong, court jester, to James I and Charles I, buried on All Fools’ Day (April 1st).

St. Michael’s Well
Steep steps at the west of the church, lead down to St. Michael’s Well.  A stone canopy is fronted by a moderately sized, rectangular pool, from which the water runs under another set of steps to seep into the land below.

The well was used for baptisms until the 1970s.

Famous Battlegrounds
A wood to the east of the church is said to be the site of the Dark Age battle of Arfderydd, fought by Urien of Rheged and the invading Saxons.

Nearby Solway Moss is the site of the Battle, fought between the English and the Scots on 24th November, 1542. The devastating “Battle of Solway Moss” resulted in English victory over the Scots.

Arthuret Parish
A description from T. Bulmer & Co’s History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, 1884 reads;

“Arthuret parish has a length of seven miles and a breadth of four. It lies between the rivers Esk, Lyne, and Liddel, and is bounded on the west, north and east sides by the parish of Kirkandrews.

Also on the east by Stapleton and on the south by Kirklinton. The parish is divided into the four townships of Brackenhill, Lynside, Longtown and Netherby and contains territory once known as the debatable lands.”

King Arthur
The area is steeped in Arthurian legend and a plaque explaining the history of Arthuret Church lays strong claim to this being the place of his burial.

Arthuret church was built under instruction of the monarch and the building is certainly not reflective of other village churches of the same age in the region.  It is indeed a statement and would have been and still is, an imposing landmark.

More information
BBC – Arthurian Legend in Cumbria.
Parishes of the Esk
About the parish of Arthuret
English Heritage – Battle of Solway Moss
The battle of  Arfderydd
Lands beyond the Wall – The debatable lands

‘Lost garden’ of Elford Hall saved

The ‘lost garden’ of Elford Hall, near Lichfield in Staffordshire, is to be saved for the local community, thanks to a confirmed grant of £248,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the efforts of dedicated volunteers.

The walled kitchen garden and gardeners cottage is all that remains of the Georgian Elford Hall Estate, built in approximately 1825 by Henry Bowes, Earl of Berkshire and Suffolk.

Remaining in the family until 1936, the hall, garden and outbuildings were then donated to Birmingham City Council (BCC) as a gift for local residents.

After falling into disrepair the hall was demolished in the 1960s and now the remaining garden wall and associated outbuildings are Grade II listed.

Half a mile of trees

The 12ft high wall, measuring 350ft by 300ft, encloses a space that has been largely neglected for the past 50 years and once housed half a mile of fruit trees.

The Elford Hall Gardens Management Committee is a voluntary community organisation formed in 2007 by local people determined to rescue it for community use.

They will now be able to start work restoring it to its former glory, giving local people the chance to get involved in the work and to cultivate allotments there.

Anne Jenkins, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the West Midlands, said:

“The community has come together in support of this project to conserve an historic walled garden that will be brought back to productive use after so many years of neglect.

Volunteers will be able to gain new skills and schoolchildren learn about nature, local heritage and the environment.”

Allotments

The HLF funded project to restore the walled garden is part of a larger initiative that will see the former head gardener’s cottage restored to provide space for a coffee shop, toilets and a classroom.

There will be educational activities linked to local schools who have already expressed interest in using the garden for visits.

The Victorian gardens, herbaceous borders and orchard will be re-created, and allotments – a feature of the original gardens – will also be established giving the community an opportunity to take an active part in ensuring the site’s sustainability.

A bowling green and tennis courts will also be constructed within the garden walls, original structure and pathways restored, and routes made accessible to picnicking areas along the adjacent River Tame.

Local people have expressed their enthusiasm for this approach. Just some of the exciting volunteering and educational opportunities that the HLF project offers are:

• training and opportunities for participants to learn skills including path laying, fencing, horticultural planning, and learning about environmentally friendly methods of food production
• a gardening club for all ages with talks, events, and workshops
• a series of lectures on rural crafts from hedge laying to basket weaving
• creation of a local schools heritage trail
• working with three local schools to produce new site interpretation
• a 12 week Princes Trust training programme for fifteen young people who will help plant the orchard and herb garden

Dave Watton, Chair of the Elford Hall Gardens Management Committee said:

“We are all delighted to receive such substantial backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund which will enable us to deliver this exciting project to maintain an element of Elford’s rural heritage for the benefit of so many people in the years to come.”

When completed it will be an amazing asset not only for Elford but for the whole of Staffordshire and the wider region.

Boston Castle in Rotherham to be restored

Occupying one of the highest points in Rotherham and visible for many miles around, Boston Castle is to be saved and transformed into a new visitor centre thanks to confirmation of a £590,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

Semi-derelict and out of use for the past decade, the Grade II listed castle originally dates back to 1775 and was built by the Earl of Effingham as a hunting lodge.

It is situated in the centre of 23 acre Boston Park, which has long been popular for walking activities and enjoying the spectacular views.

Fiona Spiers, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, said:

“The grant is a welcome New Year boost for Rotherham residents who can now look forward to a revitalised Boston Castle. The project, totalling £1.7million, will see Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) transform the Castle and its surrounding landscape into an attractive and accessible experience for everyone to enjoy.”

Salvaged

The castle will be fully restored and a new low level extension built.

The site will become a visitor centre from which people can explore the heritage of the Victorian park and town below.

It will feature exhibition areas, an education room, toilets, a function room, a first-floor viewing platform and an outside café terrace.

The battlements will be reinstated in original salvaged stone, and the windows repaired with 18th century designs.

A programme of stimulating and interesting activities will be developed that will target school children, family groups and adults.

The project will also see the creation of three new jobs.

There will be exhibitions and guided tours for visitors, and new opportunities for volunteers to take part.

Janet Worrall from The Friends of Boston Castle and Parklands said:

“The Friends group are delighted that after eight years of campaigning and some disappointments along the way, funding through Rotherham Borough Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund has been secured for the restoration of Boston Castle.  This important building, which has been Rotherham’s landmark since 1776, will now be preserved for future generations to enjoy and its story not forgotten.”

The works to Boston Castle are due to start in Spring 2010.

Greta Bridge, Keswick

Carrying the busy A66 between the M6 and Keswick is what is possibly the largest concrete span bridge in Cumbria, the Greta Bridge.

Four lanes of thundering traffic pass over this bridge everyday, however many motorists are unaware of the valley below or what an achievement it was to build it.

The structure, is said to have been designed purely by engineers with no architectural input and is renowned for its aesthetic qualities which ensure it blends well with the surrounding Lake District countryside.

Opened in 1977 Greta Bridge spans the River Greta and is sandwiched between the edge of the town of Keswick and the fells including Latrigg.

Passing underneath the bridge is the National Cycle network route 71.

This path and the associated Keswick railway footpath uses the old track bed of the Keswick railway which closed in 1972.

Construction began on the bridge in 1974 and forms part of the Keswick Northern Bypass project.

With five spans the 220m long structure sits on very tall pillars spanning the valley below.

It was one of the longest bridges of it’s type at the time.

The bridge is said to be one of the first structures to be designed using finite element analysis.

Leading Expert

One of the major structural engineers involved in the bridge design and in particular the use of pre-stressed concrete in road building was Roy Rowe.

He devised mathematical formulae to work out stresses and loads on concrete structures and was to become one of the leading experts in the use of concrete as a building material in civil engineering.

Roy Rowe died of heart disease on December 18, 2008, aged 79.

Proud

Writing in the NCE (New Civil Engineer) Mr. Peter Donaldson who was the structures Agent for the main contractor Tarmac Construction, says that the building of Greta Bridge was not without difficulty.

Mr Donaldson writes “In plan, the bridge follows a reverse curve which requires a constantly changing carriageway crossfall from one abutment to the other. In turn, this varying crossfall geometry is repeated in the cross sectional alignment of the deck itself, resulting in webs which, although apparently vertical, are actually at right angles to the deck soffit and upper slab”.

Mr Donalson was writing to the letters section of the New Civil Engineer in response to the announcement that the Great Bridge had been nominated as Britain’s best civil engineering structure of the century (NCE 4 November 1999).

Mr Donaldson adds ”  I think I can speak for all of us involved in its construction when I say that we remain immensely proud of what we achieved”

Award winning

In 1977 the bridge was awarded a Highly Commendation by the Concrete Society.

Readers of Concrete magazine however voted it Best Civil Engineering Structure of the Century in 1999.

Beverley Hughes MP, Minister for the Environment, unveiled a plaque, which is positioned beneath the bridge.

The Plaque reads:- ‘GRETA BRIDGE Voted Best Concrete Engineering Structure Of The Century September 1999 / Consulting Engineer : Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners / Contractor : Tarmac Construction / Maintained by The Highways Agency.

Other links

The urban morphology of Keswick

Location details from Google Maps      54.605880, -3.114635 +54° 36′ 21.17″, -3° 6′ 52.69″ Link:

Carlisle Market-Cross restored

An ancient Proclamation dating back to 1352 will mark the end of a restoration project on the Market Cross in the centre of Carlisle.

The Proclamation is a declaration of the City Council’s rights to hold an annual Fair in August, originally granted to the citizens of Carlisle in 1352 by Edward III.

The six week programme aimed to bring the city centre’s historic monument back to life was done by Carlisle City Council, with specialist help from heritage architectural firm St Astier and English Heritage.

Technically the monument is an Ionic column on a square base set upon five circular steps.

Bonnie Prince Charlie proclaimed his father King in this area in 1745.

The acknowledged end to the Cumbria Way is the Market Cross in front of the Old Town Hall in Carlisle.

The Market Cross is made up of a series of pieces of stone all held together using cast-iron dowels and pegs. These have corroded over time, causing the stone to expand and crack.

They have been replaced with stainless steel pins, new steps have been carved and the old worn ones replaced and the Lion, an important element of the stone work, has been extensively repaired.

Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr. Mike Mitchelson, said:

“The restoration programme is a skilled and time consuming job, which has all been possible as a result of careful preparation and the use of our, and partners, skilled professionals. I am extremely proud of what we have achieved and hope the Market Cross continues to play a major part in the day to day comings and goings in the city centre.”

New plaque installed

At the base of the monument a new brass coloured plaque has been installed with the City crest in bright red and green at the top.

It reads:

“Carlisle Cross, Market Cross, or Carel Cross was erected in 1682 on the site of an older cross.

The lion on top has one of it’s paws on the dormant book of the city. Below are four sundials.”

An inscription on the North Face  reads “Joseph Reed, Mayor, 1682”

Carlisle held its first official fair, Carel Fair, in 1353

It is said that the lion, holding  a copy of the City’s Charter, at the top of the monument faces Scotland but snarls defiantly to the west.

Market Cross Pub

On the other side of the Atlantic, in Shippensburg Pennsylvania, is a pub with close links to the scheduled monument called the Market Cross Pub.

This communal gathering place was started in 1994 and features it’s own brewery.

Other websites of interest

Old Cumbria Gazetteer – features prints of how the market cross looked in years gone by.

English Heritage – Information about the cross

Eden Bridge Gardens – Restored

Eden Bridge Gardens in Carlisle have recently completed a large restoration project.

This is how the lower garden looks now ….

Interpretation panels installed at Carlisle Cathedral

Visitors to  Carlisle Cathedral can learn more about this twelfth century building and it’s history thanks to new interpretation panels and a scale model.

Funded in part by The North West Development Agency, the five panels and 1:16th  scale model of the Cathedral help chart the history of the second smallest cathedral in the country.

Some of the panels are mounted on columns set into stone from nearby Lazonby.  These are set at a wheelchair user and child friendly height.

A bronze model, mounted on a stone plinth depicts the site as it would have looked in 1540.

Carlisle City Council Planning Application -

Gallery

Hoad monument under wraps

Hoad Monument in Ulverston is shrouded in scaffolding as work starts on a £1m restoration project.

The pepperpot, as it is know locally due to it’s shape, towers above the town in South Cumbria and is an icon for miles around.

Built in 1850 from limestone it is in the shape of the former Eddystone lighthouse designed by Smeaton.

Built as a tribute to Sir John Barrow, who was born in Ulverston in 1764, it commemorates his naval achievements.

Sir John Barrow was an academic and naval administrator. He taught mathematics in Greenwich before travelling on a Government expedition to China in 1792.

He became fluent in many languages including Mandarin Chinese.

He became Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 – 1845 and promoted British exploration of West Africa and the North Polar Region. Expeditions included those by Sir John Ross, Sir James Clark Ross and Sir John Franklin.

He was the civil servant who exiled Napoleon to St Helena and also wrote the official report on the Mutiny on the Bounty published in 1831.

He was an important figure in British Naval History and has lent his name to both Barrow Point northern Alaska and Barrow Strait, Canada.

Leaky monument

The monument was closed in 2003 because of severe ingress of water.

The Heritage Lottery fund has awarded Ulverston Town Council  £891,000 towards the restoration  The total project cost is £1,120,000.

Chairman of the town council’s Monument Restoration Committee Cllr Colin Hodgson said; “I am absolutely delighted that our bid has been successful and look forward to carrying out the work and  re-opening of the monument.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has supported the project development over the last three years, including Jayne Kendall Regeneration Manager for SLDC who prepared the bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Friends of the Sir John Barrow Monument who have worked so hard and the people of Ulverston, South Lakeland and indeed around the world for their generosity in contributing time and funds.

I would also like to thank South Lakeland District Council, Cumbria County Council, Townlands Trust and Ulverston Market town initiative for their financial support.

I would like to emphasize that we still need to carry on raising funds as we are committed to the Heritage Lottery Fund to raise an additional £50,000 over the next two years.

This is over and above the sum of £44,000 raised so far by the Friends of the Monument and others.

Donations can be sent to Ulverston Town Council, Town Hall, Queen Street, Ulverston, LA12 7ES”

It is anticipated that the monument will re-open early in 2010.

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