Dancers Hill House South Mimms Heritage Statement
January 2015
Built Heritage Consultancy
Dancers Hill House South Mimms Heritage Statement
January 2015
Contents 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 Understanding 2 3.0 Significance 31 4.0 Planning Policy Context 38 5.0 Assessment of the Proposals 42 5.0 Assessment of Landscape Proposals 49 7.0 Conclusion 52 8.0 Sources 53 Appendix:Listed building descriptions 55
© Built Heritage Consultancy 2015 This report is for the sole use of the person/organisation to whom it is addressed. It may not be used or referred to in whole or in part by anyone else without the express agreement of the Built Heritage Consultancy. The Built Heritage Consultancy does not accept liability for any loss or damage arising from any unauthorised use of this report.
1.0 Introduction
Dancers Hill House lies on the eastern side of Dancers Lane, around 300m to the east of the A1081 and around 400m to the south of the M25. It comprises a small Palladian villa of 1750- 60, which was remodelled and extended in two main phases in the second half of the 19th century. The current owner, Melanie Walsh, and her family have lived in the property since 1992. It has been a lovingly enjoyed home, but the children have now left. Melanie has had the house on the market for two years but although she has been open to offers there has been no interest whatsoever. As set out in the letter from Statons, the issue is not the price but the size and ongoing running costs of this type of property. It is therefore proposed to subdivide the house into three flats, with a further dwelling created from the cottage and staff accommodation, thereby sharing the costs of upkeep and securing the building’s long-term future.
The Built Heritage Consultancy has been commissioned to prepare this Heritage Statement to inform and support applications for planning permission and listed building consent for the proposed works. Dancers Hill House is listed at Grade II (list entry no. 1103562), and there is a separately-listed Grotto some 70m north east of the house (list entry no. 1174539). The purpose of the Heritage Statement is to assess the impact of the proposals on the significance of these heritage assets. The report summarises our research and sets out the history and significance of the assets potentially affected, as well as considering the impact of the proposals in the light of applicable national and local authority heritage policies.
Paragraph 128 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2012) requires applicants to:
describe the significance of any heritage assets affected, including any contribution made by their setting. The level of detail should be proportionate to the assets’ importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on their significance.
This Heritage Statement meets these requirements at an appropriate level of detail.
The report has been prepared by Anthony Hoyte BA(Hons) MA(RCA) MSc IHBC and James Weeks MA, and is based on archival research and a site visit made in October 2014.
Dancers Hill House viewed from the south
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 1 2.0 Understanding
2.1 Context Dancers Hill House lies on the eastern side of Dancers Lane, around 300m to the east of the present road from Barnet to South Mimms (the A1081) and around 400m to the south of the M25. Historically, it lay within the parish of South Mimms, which was the most northerly parish in Middlesex. The Church of St Giles, South Mimms, the earliest parts of which date from the 13th century, lies around 2.2km to the north west. Under the Local Government Act 1894, the parish of South Mimms was split into two. The southern part formed South Mimms Urban Parish, part of Barnet Urban District, and was transferred to Hertfordshire. In 1965, Barnet Urban District was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and became part of the present-day London Borough of Barnet. The northern part, in which Dancers Hill House is located, formed South Mimms Rural District. It became Potters Bar Urban District in 1934, and was transferred from Middlesex to Hertfordshire in 1965. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Potters Bar Urban District was abolished and its former area was combined with that of Elstree Rural District, Bushey Urban District and part of Watford Rural District to form the present-day borough of Hertsmere. The boundary between Hertsmere and the London Borough of Barnet lies around 1.4km to the south.
According to the South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment (2000-5:111-114), the Wrotham Park and Bentley Wood character area in which Dancers Hill House is located (area 025) comprises a small yet distinctive plateau with associated slopes within Wrotham Park.
South Mimms Potters Bar
South Mimms services
M25
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Dyrham Park Country Club Google Site location
2 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement Slopes within the parkland fall to the east, west and also towards Dancers Hill to the north west. Dancers Hill House lies right on the western edge of the character area, and to the north, south and west is a broadly-level and gently-undulating plain (Arkley Plain: character area 024). The underlying geology of the slopes and the plain comprises Tertiary clay overlaid by slowly-permeable and seasonally-waterlogged soils with some brown subsoils (Windsor series). There are locally areas of fine loamy and silty soils over these clays. To the north east, Potters Bar lies on a flat ridge of pebble gravel.
Early settlement in the area seems to have avoided the wooded slopes of London Clay and to have sought the shelter of the Mimmshall Brook valley to the west, where the soil could more easily be worked, as well as the gravel-capped ridge to the north, with its well-water. The early importance of the Mimmshall Brook valley is shown by the building there of both a castle, on the site of what appears to have been a Saxon settlement, and South Mimms manor house. The castle is assumed to have been built by Geoffrey de Mandeville (d.1144), Earl of Essex, on his Manor of Mimms. A manor house was first recorded in 1268, and, together with its mill, stood north of the main village of South Mimms (on the site of the present Warrengate Farm), perhaps because increasing traffic, particularly after the establishment of Barnet market, made the route to St Albans a more attractive position. In the village itself, settlement centred upon the church and by c.1220 there was a sprinkling of tenements along the roads leading towards it. Another village grew up along the gravel-capped ridge to the north east, at Potters Bar. The ‘Bar’ is said to have been one of the gates of Enfield Chase, a royal hunting ground.
As detailed below, a house called Dancers Hill appears to have existed since the mid 16th century, although the earliest parts of the present building date from the 1750s.
To the south west of Dancers Hill House lies the Dyrham Park estate (now Dyrham Park Country Club), which in the late 14th century belonged to John Durham. The present house www.pitchcare.com Dyrham Park (c.1800-10), now Dyrham Park Country Club www.geograph.org.uk Lodges and gateway, Dyrham Park (c.1790-1800)
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 3 dates from the early 19th century, whilst the lodges and arched gateway at the park’s north- eastern corner date from the last decade of the 18th century.
Around 100m to the south west of Dancers Hill House was Wicks Place, a house owned in 1709 by John Nicholl of Hendon Hall. This was renamed Laurel Lodge when it was acquired by the Trotter family of Dyrham Park. It was demolished in the late 1950s, and its site was subsequently developed with the present Laurel House.
To the east of Dancers Hill House is Wrotham Park, formerly part of the Pinchbank estate, first recorded in 1310. The present Palladian house was commissioned from Isaac Ware (1704- 1756) by Admiral John Byng (1704-1757) in 1754. Byng is famous for being court-martialled and executed in 1757 following the fall of Minorca. Wrotham Park subsequently passed to his nephew George Byng (1735-1789), who employed Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-1783) to work on the park. The estate remains in the Byng family. As detailed below, Dancers Hill House was bought by George Byng in 1768, and remained in the family’s ownership until the 1980s.
Dancers Hill Farmhouse, some 200m to the north of Dancers Hill House, dates from c.1820-30, but possibly incorporates an earlier core.
The greatest changes to the character of the area have been brought about by the development of roads. Until the creation of the straight road from Barnet to St Albans by Thomas Telford (1757-1834) in the early 19th century, the main coaching route (first mentioned in c.1220) followed a tortuous course through Kitts End, Dancers Hill, and Mimms Wash. It passed along the present Dancers Lane and its original continuation to the north, Wash Lane, and thus Dancers Hill House was for much of its history situated on a busy thoroughfare. The growth of South Mimms village, Kitts End, and Dancers Hill in the 18th century reflects increasing traffic along this road. The section of Telford’s new road from Barnet to South Mimms was completed in c.1828, and followed the course of the present A1081, some 300m to the west of Dancers Lane. www.wrothampark.com Wrotham Park (c.1754), Isaac Ware
4 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement In the 18th century, the main coaching route from Barnet to St Albans followed a tortuous course through Kitts End, Dancers Hill, and Mimms Wash, passing along the present Dancers Lane and its original continuation to the north, Wash Lane. www.motco.com John Cary’s map of 15 miles round London 1786
The historic coaching route was superseded in the early 19th century by a road constructed by Thomas Telford as part of a plan to improve communications with Holyhead. The section of road from Barnet toSouth Mimms was completed in c.1828, and at this point followed a parallel course some 300m to the west of Dancers Lane.
Ordnance Survey 1873-7
In c.1975, Dancers Lane/Wash Lane was truncated by the construction of the M25 (initially identified as the A1178) east of its junction with the A1. Junction 23 of the motorway took on its present three-level form in 1986 with the opening of the final part of the M25, westwards from South Mimms to Micklefield, and the construction of the South Mimms service area. Dancers Lane was designated an ‘access only’ road in 1984. Google Aerial photograph c.2010
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 5 In c.1975, Dancers Lane/Wash Lane was truncated by the construction of the M25 (initially identified as the A1178) east of its junction with the A1. Junction 23 of the motorway took on its present three-level form in 1986 with the opening of the final part of the M25, westwards from South Mimms to Micklefield, and the construction of the South Mimms service area, the first on the M25. Since 1986 the M25 has been widened; there has been no sound attenuation to deal with the greatly increased traffic noise, but even if this were done it is unlikely that the environment around the house would be significantly improved. Mrs Walsh has tried to overcome the noise and pollution emitted by the M25 by two measures: firstly by a strategic planting programme and secondly by enhancing an area on the south lawn which was originally a huge bog, now transformed into an attractive pond and planted to entice wildlife and create a special place.
The effect of the M25 upon Dancers Hill House has been considerable. Firstly there has been an impact on the house’s previously rural setting: it is no longer experienced as the quiet country residence it was intended to be, as traffic noise is now ever-present. This has affected the use of the gardens, which can no longer be enjoyed as the peaceful surroundings of a country house. There has also been a negative effect upon the way the house sits within its wider surroundings: the once rural approach from the north has been transformed by the presence of the massive engineering of the M25, making it a much less attractive physical setting for the house. These changes have reduced the attractiveness of Dancers Hill House as a grand country residence, and led to the present situation where there is no market interest in buying the property as a single dwelling. Mrs Walsh has been advised by estate agents that flat dwellers typically rely less on the gardens for amenity - they enjoy viewing the landscape, but rarely sit out.
Dancers Lane was designated an ‘access only’ road in 1984.
6 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 2.2 Dancers Hill House
2.2.1 The pre-1750 Dancers Hill House In 1558, according to Baker (1973:4), a house called Dancers Hill was sold (with 6 acres of land) by a William and Elizabeth Dodds to a Christopher Troughton. It seems likely that this was the same house and land that Elizabeth Dodd’s first husband, John Conningsby, had left in his will of 1543.
From 1577, the house appears to have formed part of the larger Manor of Mandeville, which was owned in turn by the Isham, Ketterick and Harrison families. As detailed by Baker (1973:5), an Inquisition Post Mortem in 1623 following the death of Richard Ketterick indicates that there were gardens and an orchard attached to the house. In 1674, Richard Harrison sold the ‘greater part’ of the Dancers Hill estate to Sir Henry Blount (1602-1682), although the house appears to have remained in the Harrison family until 1710, when it was let to a John Marten. The house was described at this time as ‘that Manor house called Dancers Hill with gardens and a 4 acre close called the Bowling Green Close and four other closes of 10 acres, 4 acres and two of 6 acres’ (quoted by Baker, 1973:7).
The house and land subsequently passed through many hands by the transfer of lease or mortgage until, in 1748, it was bought by David Hechstetter (d.1721), a Hamburg merchant who reunited them with the rest of the Dancers Hill estate, which he had acquired in 1704. At this time, the house was described as ‘that old manor house’, and it was let to an Edward Arnold. In 1750, Hechstetter’s son, also David (d.1757), leased Dancers Hill House (with 10 acres of land) to Charles Ross (d.1770), a carpenter and builder of Westminster, for a period of eighty years.
2.2.2 Charles Ross and the mid 18th century house Baker (1973:8) records that during Ross’s lease the house was identified as the ‘mansion house’. As suggested by Baker (and Baker & Pugh, 1976:282-285, and the list description), it seems likely that Ross held the property on a building lease, and that he rebuilt it during his twenty years of occupation. There are no traces of the earlier house on the site.
As detailed by Colvin (1995:835), Ross (d. 1770) was a London carpenter and joiner who sometimes acted as an architect or surveyor. He is recorded to have worked under Matthew Brettingham at the 2nd Earl of Strafford’s house in St James’s Square in 1748-9, and to have been employed at St James’s Church, Piccadilly, under James Horn in 1756. As an architect, Ross undertook on 30 August 1748 to rebuild the west front of Kirtling Hall, Cambridgeshire http://en.wikipedia.org The south front of Wentworth Castle, Yorkshire (1759-64), Lord Strafford & Charles Ross
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 7 (demolished 1801), for the 1st Earl of Guilford, ‘according to a plan given by him’. And, he may have been the ‘Mr Ross’ who finished off the works at Blair Castle, Perthshire, following the death of Roger Morris in 1749. In 1759, Ross undertook ‘to superintend’ the building of the Palladian south-east wing of Wentworth Castle, Yorkshire, for the 2nd Earl of Strafford. Lord Strafford designed the building himself, but Ross appears to have acted as his draughtsman and executive architect.
Ross’s ‘mansion house’ at Dancers Hill probably comprised a small Palladian villa arranged over two tall storeys plus attic. This survives today as the central part of the present house – the 2nd to 6th bays when viewed from the south. Of particular interest in this context is the fact that Ross worked at Marble Hill House, Twickenham (1724-9), designed by Roger Morris (1695-1749) in collaboration with Henry Herbert (1693-1749), the 9th Earl of Pembroke, for Henrietta Howard (1689-1767), Countess of Suffolk, the mistress of King George II. Marble Hill was based on designs by Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), and incorporated a cubic saloon on the first floor orpiano nobile. Shortly after its completion, Marble Hill became well known from www.english-heritage.org.uk Marble Hill, Twickenham (1724-9), Roger Morris & Lord Herbert http://en.wikipedia.org New Place, King’s Nympton (1746-9), Francis Cartwright
8 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement published engravings, and was widely admired for its compact plan and tightly controlled elevations. Its design was soon copied elsewhere, rarely in the 1730s and ’40s but more commonly thereafter, and provided a standard model for the English villas built throughout the Thames Valley and further afield, for example New Place, King’s Nympton, Devon (1746-9), designed by Francis Cartwright of Blandford.
Some idea of the original appearance of Dancers Hill House is perhaps provided by an anonymous engraving titled ‘Dancers Hill, Herts. 17[69 or 89?]; Sir Allen, since Lord Gardner’. This was most likely Sir Alan Gardner (1742-1808/9), a naval officer and politician who was created Baron Gardner in the Irish peerage in December 1800, and was raised to a peerage of the United Kingdom (with the title Baron Gardner of Uttoxeter) in November 1806. On this basis, the engraving’s title at the very least cannot have been executed before 1800. Research has not thrown up any other connection between Gardner and Dancers Hill, and Baker (1973:8) records that, in 1768, Charlotte Hechstetter sold the property, comprising in all 158 acres, to the trustees of George Byng (1735-1789). Ross, as lessee at Dancers Hill House, was followed by his nephew William Gowan in 1770. Lord Gardner was perhaps a subsequent lessee.
The engraving is clearly inaccurate, and only limited weight should be accorded its depiction of the building’s overall proportions; indeed, it may relate to a proposed enlargement that was never realised. The house appears far more squat than was probably the case, even before the remodelling of the attic storey in the 19th century (discussed below). Nonetheless, it suggests that Dancers Hill House as built was, like Marble Hill House and Palladio’s c.1553 Villa Pisani in Montagnana, arranged over two tall storeys plus attic, and that its central part comprised five bays in a 1:3:1 arrangement, the central three bays projecting forward slightly and surmounted with a pediment. On the ‘ground’ floor – thepiano nobile – was a saloon which extended from front to back, which Baker & Pugh (1976:282-285) and the list description suggest had an open loggia on its northern side beneath the pediment. These sources also suggest that the three-bay saloon was flanked by four essentially-square compartments, that to the north west containing the staircase. The engraving shows the central five-bay element flanked by two lower, two-storey elements with hipped roofs, and each presenting two bays to the north.
Dancers Hill House, 17[69 or 89?], anonymous engraving
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 9 Villa Pisani, Montagnana, Italy (c.1552-5), Andrea Palladio
As built, the central part of the house probably comprised 5 bays (1:3:1); it was extended to the east and west in the 19th century, and its attic storey remodelled
Several sources suggest that the saloon on the piano nobile had an open loggia at its northern end, although this is not clearly the case on the late 18th century engraving. Moreover, the internal piers of the ‘loggia’ do not appear to be load- bearing and the present windows appear to be of an early (late 18th/early 19th century) profile
10 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement The north elevation was probably the original entrance front; the lack of a cill suggests that the central window opening at ‘basement’ level was once a door; the paving also subtly suggests a central entrance
Short walls with terminating piers extend from the northern side of the building, marking the extent of the main body of the 1750s house
An early (late 18th/early 19th century) door in the basement
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 11 The principal staircase occupies the square compartment at the north-western corner of the 1750s house; the stair appears to contain much 18th century fabric
The doors and doorcases in the compartment at the south western corner of the 1750s house (now half of a larger room) are plausibly of mid 18th century date
The mid to late 18th century grotto as it appeared in the early 1990s
12 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement Little is known about the 18th century landscape around the house, although Baker & Pugh (1976:282-285) state that there was an avenue to the north, traces of which apparently survived into the 1970s. The grotto to the north east of the house is dated by its list description to the mid to late 18th century, and was presumably therefore added as a landscape feature in the garden of the newly-built house.
2.2.3 19th century alteration Baker & Pugh (1976:282-285) suggest that, in the early 19th century, an earth bank was raised on three sides (south, west and east) to disguise the lowest storey (referred to throughout this report as the basement). These may be the (unspecified) alterations dated by the list description to c.1820. The raising of the bank fundamentally changed the composition of the southern elevation, and the character of the views of the house from the south. It also had the unfortunate effect of rendering the basement spaces darker than they would have been previously.
The internal recess around the central window to the south at basement level suggests that this may originally have accommodated a door (perhaps the present front door to the north at ground-floor level) with margin lights. The window here is of the same late 19th century pattern present throughout much of the house.
The earliest known plan of the Dancers Hill estate is provided by the South Mimms tithe map of 1842 (reproduced on page 17). This shows the house to have comprised a rectangular volume, presumably the central part of the present house – the 2nd to 6th bays when viewed from the south – together with projections to the east and west. This lends credence to the late 18th century engraving of the house (reproduced on page 8), which shows it to have had two-storey projections to the east and west. It is conceivable that the vaulted basement-level space at the western end of the house, and its counterpart to the east (although this has been much modified), survive from these projections. This might explain why the western vaulted space extends further west than the ground-floor accommodation above, which is thought to
In the 19th century, an earth bank was raised on three sides (south, west and east) to disguise the lowest storey, and the 5-bay house was extended in two phases; first by one bay to the west (left) and two to the east, and then by a further three bays to the east
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 13 date from the 1860s. The tithe map also shows there to have been a complex of buildings to the north, perhaps accommodating stabling etc., the southernmost part of which is known to have later comprised a greenhouse, the rear wall and footings of which survive.
The tithe apportionment indicates that the tenant in 1842 was a Thomas White, who farmed most of the lands to the east of Wash Lane (which now bounds the eastern side of South Mimms services and which before the arrival of the motorway was the continuation northwards of the present Dancers Lane).
Baker (1973:8) records that, in 1856, a dispute between John Byng (1772-1860), the 1st Earl of Strafford of the third creation (who had inherited the adjacent Wrotham Park in 1847), and John Chapman, a builder, shows that Dancers Hill House at that time was being extensively altered and improved, using old bricks and other materials from buildings that were being pulled down. Baker relates that work on the boundary walls is mentioned but ‘there is no suggestion that the house was being more than improved’.
The vaulted basement-level space at the western end of the house is perhaps a remnant of the western projection shown on the late 18th century engraving of the house and on the 1842 tithe map
The footings and rear wall of the greenhouse at the northern end of what was perhaps the kitchen garden apparently survive from the complex of buildings shown on the 1842 tithe map
14 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement Baker & Pugh (1976:282-285) suggest that, in c.1860, extensions were added to the east and west of the house, and the attic floor was apparently completely remodelled. This latter claim reflects changes made since the late 18th century engraving discussed above, including the heightening of the attic storey, the raising of the roof, the removal of the pediment to the north, and presumably the addition of the pediment to the south. In respect of the extensions to the east and west, the Ordnance Survey map for 1866-94 reveals that the original five- bay house had by this time been extended by one bay to the west and two bays to the east. According to Baker & Pugh (1976:282-285), a further extension was made to the east shortly afterwards; certainly, a narrower, three-bay extension to the east with a conservatory along its southern side appears on the Ordnance Survey map for 1896. Baker & Pugh relate that the original house was of brick, but that it was later stuccoed, presumably to disguise the alterations.
The Ordnance Survey map for 1866-94 indicates that the property was accessed via the present gateway on Dancers Lane, from where a carriage-drive led around the western end of the house to a circle in front of the present front door. There was also direct access to
The western end of the house as extended in the 1860s
The two-phase eastern extension of the house, viewed from the north; the easternmost three bays (at left) date from between 1866 and 1896, the adjacent two bays probably date from the 1860s
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 15 the rear (north) side of the house, and along the western boundary to the new (since 1842) stables (next to which there was a pond), and north to further ancillary structures. On axis with the house, the open land to the north was punctuated with trees. East of this were two long garden compartments separated by the present brick wall. That to the west (perhaps a kitchen garden) terminated to the north with the southern part of the complex of buildings present in 1842, by this time a greenhouse, the footings and rear wall of which survive, and a pond, which also survives although in a very deteriorated condition. Further, no longer extant greenhouses were arranged against the wall on the eastern side of the compartment. At the southern end of the compartment was the present cottage (perhaps a coach house), although it has since been extended to the north and south. To the east of the present garden wall were further greenhouses and another pond, which survives. The grotto adjacent to the pond is not evident on the map, but it is thought to date from the 18th century.
By 1896, the cottage had been extended to the north and south west, but the greenhouses along the eastern side of the western compartment had gone.
The footings and rear wall of the greenhouse at the southern end of what was perhaps the kitchen garden
The cottage (perhaps a coach house) has clearly been extended to the north (right) and south, as confirmed by Ordnance Survey mapping, and its elevations have seen some alteration
16 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement The doorcases in the saloon are probably of 19th century date
The fit-out of the entrance hall most likely dates from the late-Victorian / Edwardian period
The majority of the windows throughout the house are thought to date from the late 19th century works
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 17 National Archives South Mimms Tithe Map 1842
Ordnance Survey 1866-94
18 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement Ordnance Survey 1896
Ordnance Survey 1913-14
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 19 Ordnance Survey 1935
Ordnance Survey 1970-71
20 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement Bing Aerial photograph c.2014
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 21 2.2.4 20th century change In the Edwardian period, as evidenced by the Ordnance Survey map of 1913-14, the stables had been extended northwards. The map also shows two further structures to the north of the coach house. Whilst the plan-form of these structures (which remains constant on maps right up until 1970) does not accord exactly with the shed now present, it is thought that the latter was erected at about this time as servants’ accommodation.
In the 1920s and ’30s, Dancers Hill House was home to Hugh Montague Trenchard (1873- 1956), the first Marshall of the Royal Air Force, who was created Viscount Trenchard in 1936. Trenchard presumably leased Dancers Hill from the Byngs, who continued to own it into the 1980s. (In 1931, Trenchard suceeded Julian Byng (1862-1935), Baron Byng of Vimy, as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.)
Dancers Hill House was subsequently the home of Major-General Robert Francis Brydges Naylor (1889-1971) and his wife Mary Millicent Rachel Naylor, née Byng (1899-1985), the daughter of Edmund Henry Byng (1862-1951), the 6th Earl of Strafford. Major-General Naylor was the President of the Royal National Rose Society in 1963-4 and 1966-8, and he is known to have entertained delegates of the society in his garden at Dancers Hill.
The available secondary sources do not indicate what happened to Dancers Hill House during the Second World War, but Kit Naylor, the son of General Naylor, told Melanie Walsh that they had to leave the house in 1941 to allow the army to occupy it. The rose garden was reportedly turned over to nissen huts to accommodate Italian prisoners of war. It was also at this time that the vaulted space beneath the southern end of the lounge next to the conservatory (the room to the east of the entrance hall) was modified into an air-raid shelter; the double-swing door at its western end suggests that it may also have been put to some sort of catering use. The army apparently inserted Yale-type locks throughout the house.
The shed to the north of the cottage, thought to have been erected as servants’ accommodation
22 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement A timber pergola link between the house and the cottage was present by 1970, although the present pentice is much more recent.
By the time Dancers Hill House was acquired by the present owner, Melanie Walsh, in the early 1990s, it was in a ‘total state of disrepair’ (GA sales particulars). Serious water ingress, compounded by the theft of lead from the roof, had caused very considerable rot throughout the roof and first floor, and all the original chimneypieces (two of which can be seen in old photographs) were stolen while the property was unoccupied.
Melanie completely replaced the roof, and largely reconstructed the internal walls of the first floor. The space immediately to the east of the principal staircase was subdivided to form a bedroom with en-suite bathroom, whilst the adjacent room to the east was made smaller to allow a widening of the spine corridor to create a pausing place. Laylights were inserted in the corridor ceiling. Further changes were made at the eastern end of the first floor to create a bedroom suite with bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. According to Nigel Walsh, the top flight of the service staircase was completely rebuilt.
At ground-floor level, reclaimed or reproduction chimneypieces from elsewhere were inserted where the originals had been stolen, and a modern kitchen was inserted in the room at the building’s north-western corner. The lean-to conservatory at the building’s eastern end was entirely reconstructed.
The air-raid shelter beneath the southern end of the lounge next to the conservatory is thought to have been created out of an existing segment-headed vaulted space (the counterpart to that at the western end of the building) that may have been a remnant of the eastern projection shown on the late 18th century engraving of the house and on the 1842 tithe map
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 23 The saloon photographed in the 1990s[?], before the theft of the original chimneypiece, perhaps of painted timber with a marble insert
A photograph of the lounge next to the conservatory, perhaps when the house was in General Naylor’s occupation, showing an original chimneypiece, perhaps of painted timber
Subdivision of the space immediately to the east of the principal staircase to form a bedroom with en-suite bathroom
24 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement The pausing place created by the widening of the spine corridor to the north
The suite created at the eastern send of the first floor
The chimneypiece inserted in the The chimneypiece inserted in the saloon dining room
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 25 At basement level, the bottom flight of the service staircase was removed to facilitate the creation of a further bathroom.
These changes were all agreed in detailed discussions with the conservation officer.
The stable block was extended and converted into a separate dwelling in 2003.
The dilapidated 19th century conservatory was entirely replaced with a modern one
The lowest flight of the service stair, between the ground floor and basement, was removed and a bathroom inserted in its place
26 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 2.3 Summary of historical development 2.3.1 Phasing The following sequence shows how Dancers Hill House, its ancillary buildings and its landscape have been successively altered. Blue indicates those structures erected since the previous phase. Hatched areas are greenhouses.
As built (speculative) By 1842 By 1866
By 1896 By 1913 By 1935
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 27 By 1970 By 2014
28 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 2.3.2 Age of fabric drawings
First floor
Ground floor
Basement Original phase, 1750s/60s C19, indeterminate date 1860s 1866-1896 C20, indeterminate date 1939-1945 1990s
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 29 Ground floor First floor
C19, indeterminate date 1860s 1866-1896 1896-1913 C20, indeterminate date 1990s
30 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 3.0 Significance
3.1 Assessing significance Significance is at the heart of the planning process, and is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2012) as:
The value of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. That interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from a heritage asset’s physical presence, but also from its setting.
In statutory terms, the importance of Dancers Hill House has already been recognised through its listing (list entry no. 1103562). The house was listed in May 1949 at Grade II, making it ‘nationally important and of special interest’. The listing extends to the outbuildings on the site, including the cottage and the staff quarters. The Grotto is separately listed at Grade II (list entry no. 1174539, August 1985). These designation reflects only the statutory importance of the buildings on the site; it does not set out what features are important, or to what degree; neither does it describe what elements play a neutral role, or detract from significance. Understanding these aspects is essential in enabling informed decisions to be taken when proposing alterations to the site, so that its special interest can be conserved wherever possible. The purpose of this section is to provide an assessment of significance, so that the effects of any proposed changes upon the listed buildings can be fully evaluated.
This Heritage Statement adopts the ‘heritage values’ criteria for assessing significance set out in English Heritage’s Conservation Principles: Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment (2008). There are four broad values, some of which consist of more than one type. These are:
Evidential Value – relating to physical evidence on the site, i.e. archaeology.
Historical Value – how an asset can connect us to the past, usually through illustrating aspects of the past, or by association with noteworthy people, movements or events.
Aesthetic Value – which can derive from the design of an asset, or perhaps through more fortuitous occurrences over time.
Communal Value – relating to what a place means for people, whether it is the commemorative or symbolic values of a place that people derive part of their identity from or have particular memories of, or the social value that accrues to a place which performs a community role through its distinctiveness or function as a place of interaction, or the spiritual value such as can be found in places of worship.
This assessment draws upon the historical understanding set out in chapter 2.0, and follows established conservation practice in using the following terms:
Highly Significant – original elements which make up the principal historical and architectural interest of the building/site.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 31 Significant – original elements which contribute noticeably to the site’s overall architectural or historic interest; or non-original features of historic or design interest.
Some Significance – original elements of rather minor importance, or non-original features which contribute to maintaining the site’s character (e.g. appropriately designed replacement windows).
Neutral or Detracting – features which do not contribute positively to the historic and architectural interest of the site, and in some cases may even detract from an appreciation of its significance. This can include original fabric where it is of minimal special interest, and is located in an area that has undergone notable change.
These terms are used in a purely relative sense within the context of the site, and should not be taken as descriptions of the absolute significance of elements compared to those of other listed buildings.
3.2 Dancers Hill House 3.2.1 Exteriors Despite much remodelling in the 19th century, including the raising of an earth bank around three sides, the external envelope of the mid 18th century house, particularly its elevations to the north and south, is of high significance, illustrative of the popularity of Palladian architecture in the years after the completion of Marble Hill House, Twickenham (1724-9). The probable authorship of Charles Ross, particularly given his involvement at Marble Hill and his sometime role as an architect to the nobility, also lends the building high significance. As discussed in chapter 2.0, the raising of the bank fundamentally changed the character of views of the house from the south, and had the unfortunate effect of rendering the basement spaces darker than they would have been previously.
The 19th century extensions to the east and west, and the remodelling of the original house, are significant in respect of their historical value, illustrative of the major expansion of the house as a permanent residence rather than a weekend retreat. It is mainly to these phases of expansion that the house owes its present architectural expression; the majority of the windows throughout the house are thought to date from the late 19th century works giving it a remarkable consistency of appearance. Later interventions that departed from this consistency, such as two small windows to the north on the first floor, probably inserted to light no longer extant WCs, and the modern window lighting the basement bathroom in place of the service stair, detract from significance.
The conservatory was completely rebuilt in the 1990s, and is thus considered to be of neutral significance.
3.2.2 Interiors The plan-form of the 1750s house is thought to have comprised a three-bay saloon on the piano nobile which extended from front to back, flanked by four essentially-square compartments, that to the north west containing the staircase. This mid 18th century plan- form remains legible despite the extensions of the 19th century, and where historic fabric
32 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement First floor
Ground floor
Basement Highly significant Significant Of some significance Neutral Detracts
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 33 defining it survives, it is of high significance. Architectural features relating to this ‘original’ construction phase are also highly significant. The doors and doorcases at the eastern end of the ground-floor compartment to the south west (now half of a larger room) appear to date from the 1750s or ’60s, and the principal staircase also appears to contain much mid 18th century fabric.
Where historic fabric defining the plan-form of the 19th century extensions survives, it is significant in respect of its historical value, illustrative of the major expansion of the house as a permanent residence rather than a weekend retreat. Architectural features relating to these phases are also significant.
Many of the internal walls on the first floor reflect the building’s historic plan-form, but were largely reconstructed in the 1990s so are considered to be of only some significance. Similarly, where rooms reflect their historic plan-form but contain few features of historic interest, they are considered to be of only some significance. The service staircase was clearly not intended to be seen and is of little inherent architectural interest. It is of some significance in respect of its value in explaining how the house functioned historically. Although the conservatory was completely reconstructed in the 1990s, it is considered to be of some significance because it reflects the arrangement and architectural language of that that was present in the late 19th century.
Rooms that have been thoroughly modernised, such as the kitchen at the western end of the ground floor and the bathroom at the western end of the first floor, are considered to be of neutral significance. Similarly, spaces that have been subdivided to facilitate the insertion of en-suite bathrooms, such as to the east of the staircase on the first floor and at the eastern end of the first floor, are neutral. The chimneypieces that have been inserted in place of lost originals are of neutral signficance.
34 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 3.3 Outbuildings 3.3.1 Coach-house The original purpose of this structure is not known, but the high ceiling and open space of the ground floor suggest that it was perhaps a coach-house. The central part of the building was present by 1866, and it had been extended to the north and south by 1896. Its external elevations have clearly undergone some alteration.
The external envelope of the earlier 19th century parts of the building are significant in respect of the development of the estate during the 19th century, probably associated the expansion of the house into a permanent residence rather than a weekend retreat. There have clearly been alterations to the blank arcade on the building’s eastern side, where previously there may have been windows or doors (suggesting the staircase may be later). The present windows are mostly modern. The external chimney on the building’s eastern side and the modern buttress against the cottage’s western elevation are of no significance. Internally, few features of architectural interest survive but the plan-form appears largely as built, and is of some significance. The subdivision of a first-floor room to create a corner bathroom is of neutral significance.
3.3.2 Staff quarters The shed to the north of the cottage appears to have been erected between 1896 and 1913, probably as servants’ sleeping accommodation. As an example of an apparently ‘flat-pack’ outbuilding of the Edwardian period, and, in consequence of its illustrative value in terms of what it can tell us about the operation of a country estate just before WW1, it is of some significance.
3.3.3 Remains of greenhouses The only surviving elements of the extensive greenhouses that were present by the 1860s are the rear wall and footings of a greenhouse at the northern end of, and at right angles to, the kitchen garden wall. The footings are so eroded that they are of no significance, but the wall might be considered to be of some significance in respect of its historic role defining the northern end of what was perhaps the kitchen garden compartment.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 35 Ground floor First floor
Highly significant Significant Of some significance Neutral Detracts
36 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 3.4 Grotto The Grotto is virtually the only garden feature to survive from the mid 18th century rebuilding of Dancers Hill House, and is therefore highly significant. That significance is somewhat compromised by its poor condition.
3.5 Landscape Little is known about the 18th century landscape associated with Charles Ross’s rebuilding of the house, and little evidence of it except the Grotto (and probably the adjacent pond) survives.
What can be discerned in the present landscape is the layout that existed in the mid 19th century, as evidenced on Ordnance Survey mapping. The earth bank raised around three sides of the house is significant, as it provides the context against which the building has been viewed, particularly from the south, since it was extended in the 19th century. Otherwise the landscape to the south is of only some significance in heritage terms, as the 19th century carriage circle has been enlarged into the present parking area. The lake is relatively recent.
To the north, the brick wall along the eastern side of what perhaps was the kitchen garden is significant, as is the division created by the planting between this and the open landscape to the west. As noted above, the rear wall of the greenhouse at the northern end of this compartment might be considered to be of some significance in respect of its historic role defining the northern end of the compartment. The extents of the garden compartment to the east of the kitchen garden are defined by the present planting, but its formal 19th century character is less obvious because of its overgrown nature. Vestiges of an edged path survive alongside the wall to the west. On axis with the house itself, the landscape is less open than it appears to have been in the 19th century, and the carriage drive to the stables is no longer evident. This area nonetheless provides an appropriate parkland setting for the house.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 37 4.0 Planning Policy Context NOTE: This Section is superseded - please refer to appendix in document 1736 - Addendum 4.1 Designations Dancers Hill House was listed at Grade II in 1949 (list entry no. 1103562). The Grotto around 70m to the north east of the house was listed at Grade II in 1985 (list entry no. 1174539). List descriptions can be found in the Appendix.
Any proposals for the site will be assessed in terms of the impact they might have on the significance of these designated heritage assets, including their settings, and will be subject to a range of national and local authority heritage policies in addition to normal planning policy. These are set out below.
4.2 National heritage policies 4.2.1 Primary legislation Listed buildings are subject to the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, together with parts of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act provides that listed building consent is required for:
any works for the demolition of a listed building or for its alteration or extension in any manner which would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest …
Section 16(2) of the Act states that:
In considering whether to grant listed building consent for any works the local planning authority … shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.
With regard to applications for planning permission affecting the setting of listed buildings, Section 66 of the Act requires that:
in considering whether to grant planning permission for development that affects a listed building or its setting or whether to grant listed building consent, the local authority shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving a listed building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.
4.2.2 National Planning Policy Framework National heritage policy governing the application of the primary legislation is contained within section 12 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2012). Paragraph 128 of the NPPF requires applicants to:
describe the significance of any heritage assets affected, including any contribution made by their setting. The level of detail should be proportionate to the assets’ importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on their significance.
38 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement This Heritage Statement meets these requirements at an appropriate level of detail.
The relevant sections of the NPPF are as follows:
129. Local planning authorities should identify and assess the particular significance of any heritage asset that may be affected by a proposal (including by development affecting the setting of a heritage asset) taking account of the available evidence and any necessary expertise. They should take this assessment into account when considering the impact of a proposal on a heritage asset, to avoid or minimise conflict between the heritage asset’s conservation and any aspect of the proposal.
130. Where there is evidence of deliberate neglect of or damage to a heritage asset the deteriorated state of the heritage asset should not be taken into account in any decision.
131. In determining planning applications, local planning authorities should take account of: • the desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation; • the positive contribution that conservation of heritage assets can make to sustainable communities including their economic vitality; and • the desirability of new development making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness
132. When considering the impact of a proposed development on the significance of a designated heritage asset, great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation. The more important the asset, the greater the weight should be. Significance can be harmed or lost through alteration or destruction of the heritage asset or development within its setting. As heritage assets are irreplaceable, any harm or loss should require clear and convincing justification. Substantial harm to or loss of a grade II listed building, park or garden should be exceptional.
133. Where a proposed development will lead to substantial harm to or total loss of significance of a designated heritage asset, local planning authorities should refuse consent, unless it can be demonstrated that the substantial harm or loss is necessary to achieve substantial public benefits that outweigh that harm or loss, or all of the following apply: • the nature of the heritage asset prevents all reasonable uses of the site; and • no viable use of the heritage asset itself can be found in the medium term through appropriate marketing that will enable its conservation; and • conservation by grant-funding or some form of charitable or public ownership is demonstrably not possible; and • the harm or loss is outweighed by the benefit of bringing the site back into use.
134. Where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal, including securing its optimum viable use.
136. Local authorities should not permit loss of the whole or part of a heritage asset without taking all reasonable steps to ensure the new development will proceed after the loss has occurred.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 39 137. Local planning authorities should look for opportunities for new development within Conservation Areas and World Heritage Sites and within the setting of heritage assets to enhance or better reveal their significance. Proposals that preserve those elements of the setting that make a positive contribution to or better reveal the significance of the asset should be treated favourably.
140. Local planning authorities should assess whether the benefits of a proposal for enabling development, which would otherwise conflict with planning policies but which would secure the future conservation of a heritage asset, outweigh the disbenefits of departing from those policies.
141. Local planning authorities should make information about the significance of the historic environment gathered as part of plan-making or development management publicly accessible. They should also require developers to record and advance understanding of the significance of any heritage assets to be lost (wholly or in part) in a manner proportionate to their importance and the impact, and to make this evidence (and any archive generated) publicly accessible. However, the ability to record evidence of our past should not be a factor in deciding whether such loss should be permitted.
4.3 Local heritage policies 4.3.1 Hertsmere Local Plan A number of policies within the Hertsmere Local Plan (2003) remain in force. Of relevance here are the following:
Policy E12: Listed Buildings – Demolition Listed building consent will be refused for total or substantial demolition of a listed building or structure unless evidence is submitted to clearly demonstrate that retention in its existing or in an alternative use, is not practicable. An application for demolition of a listed building where subsequent redevelopment is intended will not be considered unless a suitable replacement has been designed and submitted as a simultaneous planning application.
Policy E13: Listed Buildings – Alteration and Extensions Listed building consent will be refused for alterations or extensions that would be detrimental to the special architectural or historic character of a listed building.
Policy E16: Listed Buildings – Development Affecting the Setting of a Listed Building Planning permission will be refused for any development which would materially harm the setting of, or endanger the fabric of, a listed building.
Policy E17: Listed Buildings – Submission of Drawings To enable a proposal to be fully assessed, an application for listed building consent, or for planning permission for development affecting a listed building or its setting, must be accompanied by appropriate detailed drawings and schedules or reports or other agreed documents that: (i) record the building or the part of the building affected by the works; (ii) clearly describe in drawn and written form the exact nature of the work to be carried out; and (iii) show new development in relationship to the listed building and any adjacent historic structures.
40 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 4.3.2 Hertsmere Core Strategy The Council’s policy on the historic environment is set out in Policy CS14 of the Hertsmere Core Strategy (adopted 2013), which states:
Policy CS14 Protection or enhancement of heritage assets All development proposals must conserve or enhance the historic environment of the Borough in order to maintain and where possible improve local environmental quality. Development proposals should be sensitively designed to a high quality and not cause harm to identified, protected sites, buildings or locations of heritage or archaeological value including Conservation Areas, Listed Buildings, Historic Parks and Gardens, Scheduled Ancient Monuments or their setting, and identified and as yet unidentified Archaeological Remains. The Council will take account of available historic environment characterisation work, including Conservation Area appraisals and archaeological assessments, when making decisions affecting heritage assets and their settings.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 41 5.0 Assessment of the Proposals
5.1 Outline of the proposals Attempts to sell Dancers Hill House as a single dwelling have failed, as no one it seems is willing to take on the high long-term costs of upkeep. It is therefore proposed to subdivide the house into three flats, with a further dwelling created from the cottage and staff quarters, and thereby share the costs of upkeep and secure the building’s long-term future.
The proposals are described in detail in the Architect’s submission; the following is intended as a summary to inform the subsequent discussion about the scheme’s potential impact on the buildings’ significance.
Following several discussions at Pre-Application stage, the initial options have been revised to produce a final scheme for submission that addresses the points raised by the Planning Officer and Conservation Officer. For practical reasons, the preferred approach is to subdivide the house laterally into three flats – one per floor – using a light touch throughout. Access to the ground-floor flat would be via the existing front door to the south; access to the basement and first floor flats would be via new entrances at garden level on the north side, located either side of the loggia. The first floor flat entrance would include an external porch sheltering the door into the stair hall.
Basement flat
The open loggia would become part of the living accommodation, with large glazed doors set behind the external arches to preserve their appearance from the garden. This would also involve the removal of the existing (non-original) windows, and the dropping of their cills. The doorways to the stair hall would be sealed shut, a new doorway would be inserted in the centre of the original south front (where an original door is likely to have been), and there will be limited remodelling of the spaces in the eastern part of the basement to allow the creation of a master bedroom suite. The latter is a later extension of relatively low significance internally. A new kitchen would be provided in the parlour next to the wine cellar.
Outside, to the south, it is proposed to move the earth bank southwards slightly to allow more light to reach the basement windows.
Ground-floor flat
Access to the existing front door at ground-floor level would be via a bridge in order to allow the earth bank to the south to be moved southwards slightly to allow more light to reach the basement windows. The widened light-well would reflect the original width of the Georgian frontage, and allow the true character of the south façade to be better appreciated.
The existing entrance hall and lounge to the east would both be subdivided to allow the creation of a master bedroom suite. The modern secondary staircase up to the first floor would be replaced with a dressing room. The east end of the house would also be subdivided to provide further bedroom suites. Existing doorways on the north side of the living room,
42 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement and to the main staircase, would be sealed shut to enable privacy and meet fire regulations. At the western end of the house the later staircase into the north west corner room would be removed and the opening sealed shut, while the room itself would be subdivided.
First-floor flat
One of the principal alterations would be the creation of a porch at garden level on the north elevation, consisting of an L-shaped wall with a concealed roof and a glazed third side containing the front door. This would give access into the stair hall which would remain largely as existing, with the addition of a glazed lift in the central well and the doorways into lower floors sealed shut. The lift is intended to allow full accessibility to this flat; its glazed nature and detailed design would allow the existing character of the well stair to remain appreciable while minimising physical impacts upon the historic fabric. Certain existing doorways in the stair well would be sealed shut to enable privacy and meet fire regulations.
Alterations within the first-floor flat would include the removal of modern partition walls in the central part of the house and the creation of a large opening in the much-altered southern corridor wall, to provide a suitable living room. Existing partitions of modern or much-altered character in the eastern part of the house would be altered or removed to allow suitable bedroom suites to be created – this would also include the removal of the recently reconstructed upper section of the secondary stair.
Outbuildings
In order to create a single dwelling in the outbuildings, it is proposed to replace the present lean-to extension to the north of the cottage with a two-storey addition in complementary brick. This would be connected to the former staff quarters further north by a single- storey glazed link. The centre of the staff quarters would be extended eastwards to create a sufficiently wide living room. The historic brick arches on the ground floor of the cottage would be retained and re-opened to form windows and a door.
5.2 Assessment The various proposed works have been devised in order to provide a sensible long-term solution to the key issue facing the listed building: in essence how to accommodate an economically sustainable residential use, so that the considerable financial requirements of its upkeep can be met over the long term. Since the building is not attractive as a single residence, subdivision is necessary; but since large parts of the building are not well arranged or daylit at present, there is a need for re-planning of walls and circulation routes in certain areas. Thankfully, the general character of the interiors will allow for subdivision into three lateral flats without extensive interventions in the areas of higher significance, but nevertheless some changes will be unavoidable.
Following our archive research and site analysis, we have worked with Jane Duncan Architects and the owner in order to devise a scheme that will deliver the necessary accommodation without unnecessarily harming the building’s heritage value. It is felt that the present scheme suitably addressed the long-term issues the building faces, while working with the grain of its existing historic character and providing practical and desirable accommodation.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 43 5.2.1 Impacts on fabric Dancers Hill House
Exterior
A small new window would be inserted on the east wall of the house at ground floor level, to light one of the en-suite bathrooms. This would not affect the main views of the house or the principal facades, and would be acceptable in terms of its heritage impact.
The proposed new porch to the north, which would provide access to the first-floor flat, would comprise a single-storey box with simple masonry walls to east and north and a glazed west side facing the existing projecting wall. It would be a contemporary but recessive element on this elevation that would not detract from an appreciation of the central loggia or the massing and proportions of the elevation as a whole.
Separate front doors are required in order to give private access to the different flats, and the house’s existing layout makes it necessary to create new entrances rather than reuse existing ones. The proposals would therefore provide a discreet new door to the east of the loggia, with glazing similar to the neighbouring sash windows, which would not compete either with the loggia or the proposed new porch on the other side.
Elsewhere on the north façade, the offset window lighting the secondary staircase would be moved upwards to the same level as the other windows, in order to light the new room behind. Overall, these alterations to the north façade would form an honest and restrained group that would reflect the house’s ongoing history of adaptation.
The southern side of the house would be changed through the setting-back of the existing grass bank. This late 19th century feature heavily compromises the amenity of the basement rooms and the proposed opening-up of the lightwells would deliver considerable benefits. The bank would be retained but re-profiled (in effect: ‘moved back’) so that the house would still appear the same in longer views from the south drive and landscape. The façade at the lower level would be made good and rendered to match the existing, while the new terrace created at basement level would have high quality paving, as well as a stepped north side with well-chosen planting that would obviate the need for any incongruous safety balustrades. The original south entrance to the Georgian house, presently walled up to house a window, would be reinstated, allowing access onto the terrace and reintroducing an original feature. Meanwhile the ground floor front door would be retained, and accessed by a new bridge over the lightwell that would be guarded by simple vertical iron railings.
Overall, through delivering significant benefits to the interiors of the basement, re-establishing the Georgian design concept of a 3-storey house, and keeping the established long views of the house intact, this proposal would achieve a satisfying balance between the building’s various significances and the needs of any future occupants.
Basement flat
The removal of the arched windows on the southern side of the open loggia, and the dropping of their cills, would cause only minor harm to the building’s significance: the windows themselves are later insertions of low inherent value, while the central window was originally occupied by a doorway in any case. The minor harm that these alterations might cause is
44 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement considered acceptable when set against the wider heritage benefits that the proposed scheme as a whole would deliver. Meanwhile the use of large glazed doors set behind the outer arches of the loggia would allow the architectural expression of the arches to remain intelligible in views of the building, while retaining the unity of the vaulted space. This would consequently not cause undue harm to the building’s significance.
The removal of Victorian fabric at the east end of the basement, and the insertion of partition walls to create the master bedroom suite, would affect fabric of relatively low significance that is not central to the special interest of the listed house. Given the benefits this would deliver in terms of enhanced accommodation these changes would have an acceptable impact upon the building’s significance.
The minor changes elsewhere include the sealing of historic doorways for privacy and fire purposes, and the creation of new doors into the southern light well. The new central doors on the south side would reinstate what was probably a historic entrance to the 18th century building, and would increase our understanding of the way in which the original house was laid out. The western door would entail the removal of some historic fabric, although this would be balanced by the increase in amenity brought by access from the kitchen into the sunken terrace. On balance these changes are considered acceptable, in view of the much- altered character of this part of the house, and the benefits that would accrue.
Ground floor
The works would entail the removal of the secondary staircase between the ground and first floors. As detailed in chapter 3.0, the staircase was originally inserted in a later extension to the house, and was clearly not intended to be seen by anyone other than domestic staff; the lower flight has been removed, and the remaining portion has been comprehensively reconstructed following an outbreak of dry rot: what remains today is of little inherent architectural interest and limited significance. Its removal would cause less than substantial harm to the significance of Dancers Hill House as a whole, and would enable the building to be adapted in order to have a sustainable long-term future.
In order to create a workable layout on this floor, there is a clear need to subdivide some existing spaces. The reduction in size of the existing entrance hall would not cause unacceptable harm to significance: as the two chimneybreasts demonstrate, this area was probably originally two rooms in the Georgian house, and was altered in the late 19th century to form a new entrance hall when the earth bank was created. Consequently the proposals would reinstate a cross- wall in roughly the same location as the lost original. In tandem with the wider benefits of enabling a workable new use for the building this alteration would therefore be acceptable.
The second proposed subdivision would affect the present lounge east of the entrance hall. This room is large but not entirely symmetrical about its off-centre chimneybreast. It is a later addition to the original house, and does not form a key part of its historic plan form. Meanwhile it stands astride the circulation route between the eastern and western parts of the house, and so it is necessary to divide it into a corridor and bedroom, with potentially other modifications for dressing room and ensuite facilities. Due to the modest architectural character of this interior, and the necessity of change in order to accommodate the beneficial remodelling of the accommodation, the proposed options would have an acceptable impact on significance.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 45 The proposed subdivisions in the eastern part of the house would affect an area of relatively low significance and historic character. These works are necessary in order to create bedrooms for this flat, and in view of their modest impact upon historic fabric and their sensitive design, they would be acceptable.
First floor
On the first floor, the modern walls enclosing the bedroom and ensuite bathroom just to the east of the staircase compartment would be removed, together with the reconstructed corridor wall opposite, to facilitate the creation of a double-aspect living room to match the plan-form of the two original room volumes on the lower floors. The modern wall on the northern side of the pausing place would also be removed. These alterations would affect fabric which is largely modern, and the changes would not destroy significant historic plan form. The benefits would be considerable, in terms of creating a fitting living room for the flat, which mirrors the layout of the historic rooms below. In view of the benefits, the coherent design approach and the relatively low significance of the fabric affected, these alterations are considered acceptable.
At the eastern end of the building, the reconfiguration of the modern partitions would have a negligible impact upon significance. The alteration to the north west room, involving removing the direct access to the staircase, would re-establish the pre-19th century character of this part of the staircase, without any notable negative impacts upon the plan form.
General
The works would necessitate the removal or modification of several internal walls, and/or the insertion of new openings. In every case these changes have been directed wherever possible at areas of lower significance which are more able to accommodate alteration. The character and mouldings of the new work will be carefully devised in order to form appropriate features in their context.
Throughout the building, where significant existing door openings are no longer required, the doors, doorframes and architraves would be retained with the doors facing to the principal room in each case, and fireproofing fitted behind.
In order to meet the need for universal full and level access, it is proposed to insert a lift into the main stair well. The proposed fully glazed design would allow the existing character of this space to remain legible as far as possible, and it would not involve any alteration to the current balustrades or stringers. Any flagstones that would need to be removed in the centre of the floor would be used to replace the existing unsightly concrete repair to the south west corner of the floor. The lift would read as a standalone modern insertion, allowing the historic character of the building to remain in the forefront. Although inevitably there would be some impact upon significance, it is felt acceptable in this case due to the considerable benefits of access which would be gained, and the very modest loss of historic fabric.
Outbuildings
In providing a separate dwelling in the outbuildings, the 19th century lean-to extension to the cottage would be rebuilt as a two-storey element containing a new entrance hall, utility, bedroom and bathrooms. Externally, this new extension would give a satisfying balance to
46 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement the massing of the cottage, and together with the use of suitable brick this would maintain the existing building’s contribution to the setting of the main house. In the older parts of the building the existing staircase to the south would be removed, opening up the central room to its full width, and the existing ground-floor arches along the eastern side of the cottage would be opened-up and glazed as they probably originally were. On the first floor the present arrangement of rooms would be changed to optimise the accommodation.
Connection between the existing cottage and the staff quarters, and access to the new dwelling, would be via a simple glazed link between the buildings, which would enable the historic and new elements to be clearly identified as well as providing a western entrance with a minimal effect upon the character of the cottage’s elevation towards the listed house.
The internal walls of the staff quarters building would be removed to allow it to function as a living room; its walls and roof would be clad internally with compliant insulation. Facing west, two small windows would be inserted at opposite ends of this long façade. A length of the building’s eastern elevation would be removed to provide for a simple flat-roofed extension protruding into the garden, which would be almost completely glazed to differentiate it from the existing structure. As these alterations would affect fabric of minimal significance, and the more noticeable changes to the buildings’ external appearance would face away from the listed house, they would not have a negative impact upon the wider heritage value of the site.
5.2.2 Impacts on setting Those elements of the proposed works that have the potential to affect the setting of Dancers Hill House comprise:
• alterations to the northern drive and car park area; • moving the existing earth bank away from the south wall of the house; • the upward extension of the northern end of the gardener’s cottage, and the glazed link between the gardener’s cottage and the staff quarters.
The proposed increase in the gravelled area north of the house would allow for additional parking to serve the separate dwellings. This area would include new fountain centred on the axis of the loggia, to provide visual relief as well as – most importantly – to produce a noise barrier to counter the sound of heavy traffic on the nearby M25. This layout and the surrounding landscaping has been developed through Pre-Application discussions with the Planning Officer and Conservation Officer, who recommended that a simple approach to the shapes of and boundaries between the grassed and gravelled areas would be best.
The moving southwards of the existing earth bank to the south is necessary to allow more light to reach the basement windows, to improve conditions inside and thereby make the basement flat attractive to potential purchasers. The earth bank is considered significant in the sense that it provides the context against which the building has been viewed from the south since it was extended in the 19th century. Creating a larger gap between the building and the bank would significantly improve lighting to the basement flat and allow the original Georgian concept of the 3-storey villa to be appreciated once more, whilst maintaining the existing composition of the house when viewed from the south, i.e. a long two-storey
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 47 elevation sitting above the slope of the bank. The significant aspects of the bank’s role would therefore remain, while the basement rooms would be enhanced inasmuch as they would regain some of the daylit character that was lost in the 19th century.
The external envelope of the earlier parts of the cottage are considered significant for demonstrating the development of the estate during the 19th century. The rebuilding of the northern end of the cottage as a two storey element would not have a negative impact on the visual setting of Dancers Hill House and the character of the gardens. The glazed link between the cottage and the staff quarters would facilitate the incorporation of the latter into the proposed new dwelling whilst also allowing the two main elements to remain visually distinct. It would help to secure the future of both buildings, with a minimal effect upon the setting of the listed house or the character of the gardens. The small extension on the eastern side of the staff quarters would have a negligible impact on the visual setting of Dancers Hill House. Meanwhile it would also have a minimal impact upon the character of the garden to the east.
For further consideration of the landscape around the house, see also Chapter 6 below.
48 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 5.0 Assessment of Landscape Proposals
As part of the Pre-Application process a supplementary report on the history and significance of the landscape around the house was produced, to allow the potential impact of the landscape proposals to be assessed. This has been revised in light of the final proposals to form an independent assessment, and is reproduced below to supplement the analysis elsewhere in this Heritage Statement
6.1 Historical and existing landscape The landscape around Dancers Hill House Is broadly similar now to its layout as first recorded on the South Mimms Tithe Map of 1842 (reproduced above the Heritage Statement). Then, as now, the house was set side-on to the nearby road, with the main gardens to the north and south.
The historic landscape around the house, as shown on the 1842 map in Chapter 2, had the following main elements:
• Around the house, the land appears to have been mainly flat. There was a small northern forecourt flanked by two short walls (which still exist).
• To the north was a long garden, with a central open lawn centred on the house, flanked by trees to either side. The western tree border screened the public road, while the eastern one hid the garden wall.
• To the south, there was a smaller but wider enclosed garden, with an informal layout including an off-centre open lawn in front of the house, several trees along the western edge of the site, and more numerous trees to the west and south west of the house. Beyond this rectangular garden was a much larger open field.
• To the east and north east of the house, the site included the walled gardens that remain today, although the east-west wall aligned with the north front of the house was to disappear in the later 19th century. North east of the house was the Cottage, and presumably the garden beyond this was a kitchen garden, leading northward to a pond and glass houses. To the east of this garden was a further, larger space, which appears to have been a field and featured the pond and “hermit’s cave” in its southern part.
• To the west was the main entrance to the site, via a gateway on the main road closest to the house.
Several main changes occurred to this relatively simple landscape over the next 150 years. These are shown on the Ordnance Survey maps above, and are briefly summarised as follows:
• Around the house, an embankment was created in the 1860s that hid the ‘basement’ storey on three sides and created an elevated terrace to the west, south and east. In
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 49 recent decades a number of trees have become established on this terrace. Meanwhile the gravel forecourt to the north of the house has clearly shifted in extent and shape over the decades, as shown on the various OS maps.
• To the north, the open lawn in front of the house remained largely intact, with the addition of several specimen trees in the mid 19th century. The one-time stables along the western edge appear to have been built by the 1860s, as well as a nearby pond – the latter had disappeared by the mid 20th century.
• To the south, many of the trees were removed in the later 19th century but the informality of the layout remained. In the last two decades the planting of trees has brought the area around the house back more closely to its 1842 appearance. In recent decades a second driveway and turning circle have been created to allow the house to be approached from the south: this may be said to complement at long last the Victorian changes to the house that turned the middle storey into the main living area and created a front door onto the south raised terrace.
• To the east of the house, the east-west wall may have been largely removed in the 1860s. Meanwhile the maps show that between the 1860s and 1890s many trees were planted in the ‘kitchen garden’ east of the cottage and the easternmost garden enclosure; these were then removed, but more recently new trees have become established in the eastern garden. Also in the mid-Victorian period, new greenhouses were erected which outlasted the trees and have only become derelict in recent decades. The ‘kitchen garden’ remains relatively open today, although the ‘potting shed’ was erected north of the cottage in the early 20th century.
• To the west of the house a modern driveway has been laid to give access between the front and rear of the house.
6.2 Proposals The proposed landscape scheme is shown on the site plan by Jane Duncan Architects submitted alongside this statement.
There would be little change to the wider landscape around the house: the existing historic walls and the two vehicle entrances from Dancers Hill Lane would remain unaltered. The walled gardens to the north east of the house would not be changed except for a new fence as discussed below. The large lawn to the north of the house and the parkland to the south would mostly remain unchanged, and the existing trees would stay.
The main alterations to the landscape around the house would be as follows:
• The south bank in front of the house would be shifted outwards by 2 metres to accommodate the hidden basement terrace behind, and a new bridge would give access to the front door.
• Planting would be introduced around the sunken steps down to the new south basement terrace, to provide natural boundaries to the new space.
50 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement • The existing planting along the north side of the house would also be revised, as noted on the accompanying site plan, in order to provide a more uniform buffer between the drive and the lower floor of the house.
• The gravel area in the north forecourt would be reconfigured slightly. This would include a new circular water feature on the axis of the centre of the Georgian house, set within an enlarged gravel parking area. Further north, the landscape would remain essentially unchanged.
• To the east, between the cottage and the house, a fence would broadly re-establish the line of the former east-west enclosure seen on the 1842 Tithe Map.
6.3 Effect upon the setting of heritage assets The character of the existing southern garden outside the house is informal and open, and the proposals would leave this essentially unchanged. The alterations to the embankment and the creation of the new basement terrace and bridge, together with the modest size and reticent character of the proposed planting, would not impair the existing character of the wider landscape, nor of views to and from the house. The southern basement terrace would also add to the layers of interest on the site by subtly revealing the width of the original Georgian house.
To the north of the house the planting proposed for the existing border would be relatively low in height and would not materially change the setting of the listed building from its present state. The changes to the gravel forecourt would arguably enhance an appreciation of the original Georgian design, by highlighting the axis centred on the middle window of the first floor of the 18th century villa. At the same time it would not entail alterations to the wider landscape.
To the east, the erection of a fence to give privacy to the rear garden of the cottage would reinstate a historic boundary feature shown on the Tithe Map of 1842 and several early Ordnance Surveys. This may be viewed as modestly enhancing an appreciation of the site’s history, or else at the very least must be considered as having a neutral effect.
Overall, the changes would leave the essential landscape character around the house intact, while the alterations to create the southern basement terrace and northern car parking would work with the grain of the existing layout. The restrained new planting and water feature are elements that are in keeping with the site’s history of periodic but low-key change, and would arguably enhance the setting of the house.
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 51 7.0 Conclusion
This report has set out the known history and development of the fabric, design and setting of Dancers Hill House. It is clear that the building has been considerably modified at several points during its existence, leading to a long sequence of rooms on each floor and a curious hybrid architectural appearance. Latterly, its position close to the M25 and the high ongoing costs of upkeep have limited its attractiveness to potential purchasers. In order to secure the long-term future of the listed building it therefore seems essential to devise a way of subdividing it into manageable flats, so that together the residents can afford the overall maintenance costs of the buildings and gardens.
The layout of the main house is such that some alteration is inevitable in order to create workable apartments. Nonetheless, the current proposals are able to leave most of the more significant spaces and walls intact, while directing alterations at areas of lower significance that are more able to accommodate them. Indeed there are notable benefits, such as the proposed opening-up of the basement lightwells into a sheltered southern terrace, that would greatly improve the amenity of the lower storey while revealing the original Georgian elevation more fully to view.
Some parts of the proposed scheme will have a more notable impact upon the (albeit much- altered) historic character and fabric of the listed building. Most obviously, the porch to the north façade and the installation of a lift within the central well of the main staircase will alter the way in which the existing characters of these elements are perceived. However in both cases the alterations would be clearly legible as modern interventions that would leave the existing historic fabric readable behind. In design terms they would form dignified contemporary additions that would serve much needed functions.
As noted in chapter 5.0 above, the works proposed to the wider landscape and to the cottage and staff quarters would be sensitive to the setting of the listed house. They would satisfy the need for high quality design that respects the very particular historic context of the site.
In the context of the pressing need to secure the long-term conservation of the listed building and its setting, the proposed division of the house into three lateral flats and the associated alterations described in this report would, on balance, have an acceptable overall effect upon its heritage value. The proposed design approach would satisfy the relevant requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework, and the local authority policies set out in E13 and E16 of the Hertsmere Local Plan and CS14 of the Hertsmere Core Strategy.
52 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 8.0 Sources
Baker, H.M. (1973): ‘Dancers Hill and the Manor of Mandeville’, Barnet and District Local History Society Newsletter, No. 17, November
Baker, T.F.T. & Pugh, R.B. [eds.] (1976): A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton, Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham [Victoria County History]
Colvin, Howard (1995): A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840 (3rd edition), New Haven & London: Yale University Press
Department for Communities & Local Government (2012): National Planning Policy Framework
English Heritage (2008): Conservation Principles: Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment
English Heritage (2011): Understanding Place: Conservation Area Designation, Appraisal and Management
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013
Hertfordshire County Council / The Landscape Partnership (2000-2005): South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment
Hertsmere Borough Council (2003): Hertsmere Local Plan
Hertsmere Borough Council (2013): Hertsmere Local Plan: Core Strategy DPD
King, Padraic (1931): ‘Hard Boiled War Hero Takes Reins at Scotland Yard’, The Milwaukee Journal, 29 November, p. 3
Jackson, Penny (1996): ‘The renovation game’, The Independent, 19 October
The London Gazette, 12 August 1890, p. 4400
The London Gazette, 27 July 1984, p. 10314
Orange, Vincent: ‘Trenchard, Hugh Montague, first Viscount Trenchard (1873-1956)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2011 [http:// www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36552, accessed 2 Oct 2014]
Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget (1977): Hertfordshire [The Buildings of England], New Haven & London: Yale University Press
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 53 Sheppard, F.H.W. [ed.] (1960): Survey of London: volumes 29 and 30: St James Westminster, Part 1 (www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40549 Date accessed: 03 October 2014)
Summerson, John (1993): Architecture in Britain, 1530-1830, New Haven & London: Yale University Press
Tavernor, Robert (1991): Palladio and Palladianism, London: Thames & Hudson
Worsley, Giles (1995): Classical Architecture in Britain: The Heroic Age, New Haven & London: Yale University Press
54 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement Appendix: Listed building descriptions
Name: DANCERS HILL HOUSE List Entry Number: 1103562 Location: DANCERS HILL HOUSE, DANCERS LANE County: Hertfordshire District: Hertsmere District Type: District Authority Parish: South Mimms Grade: II Date first listed: 20-May-1949
Details:
TQ 29 NW POTTERS BAR DANCERS LANE (East side) Dancers Hill 8/200 Dancers Hill House 20.5.49 II
Large house. c.1750-60. Altered c.1820. Extended and remodelled c.1860 and after. Built for Charles Ross. Stuccoed brick, slate roof. Elongated Palladian villa. 3 storeys to original entrance front. Original 5 bays, 1:3:1, slightly projecting central feature. Ground floor: open triple arcade, groin vault. Principal floor: attached Roman Doric order. Pilaster strips continue emphasis of centre through cornice to parapet. 2 bays added to right, 5 to left. Glazing bar sashes throughout. False window, right of centre on 2nd floor. Early C18 ovolo moulded thick glazing bars on ground floor to right and first floor to left of central bays. Plat band between 2 lower storeys. Continuous timber modillion eaves cornice below parapet. Four cross axial stacks and left end stack. Right return wall has a French window in an aedicular surround. Garden front: 8 bays, 2 storeys, basement banked up in early C19. 3 bays to centre of original villa project slightly under pediment. Glazing bar sashes. Panelled door to right with side and top lights. Far right 3 bays set back with ground floor lean-to conservatory in front. Interior: saloon on principal floor behind triple arcade which probably led to an open loggia behind original portico. To left timber pergola link to brick stores cottage with hipped slate roof. 2 storeys. Dentilled brick courses. Later extensions. C18 grounds laid out with avenue to N. (VCH Middlesex 1976)
Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement 55 Name: GROTTO ABOUT 70 METRES NORTH EAST OF DANCERS HILL HOUSE List Entry Number: 1174539 Location: GROTTO ABOUT 70 METRES NORTH EAST OF DANCERS HILL HOUSE, DANCERS LANE County: Hertfordshire District: Hertsmere District Type: District Authority Parish: South Mimms Grade: II Date first listed: 12-Aug-1985
Details:
TQ 29 NW POTTERS BAR DANCERS LANE (East side) Dancers Hill 8/201 Grotto about 70m NE of Dancers Hill House II
Grotto. Mid to late C18. Flint and limestone dry rubble. Irregularly shaped mound with multiple small openings. Set next to a small pond. Listing NGR: TQ2354099417
56 Dancers Hill House, South Mimms: Heritage Statement
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