Design, Access and Heritage Statement
The Boathouse, Stourhead Gardens, Stourhead, Wiltshire, BA12 6QD
Fig. 1 The Boathouse from the North
Helen Brown MSc. MRICS
Historic Buildings Surveyor The Mill, Godmanstone, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 7AQ T: 01300 341723 M: 07786 832566 E: [email protected] ------
Contents Page #
List of Illustrations
1. Design 3
2. Access 3
3. Designations and Listing Entries 3
4. Description of the Building 4
5. Setting 7
6. Statement of Significance 8
7. Proposal 10
8. Heritage Impact Assessment 11
9. Conclusions 11
10. Bibliography
List of Illustrations
Fig. 1 The Boathouse from the North Frontispiece Fig. 2 Boathouse West ‘grotto style’ Elevation 4 Fig. 3 Location Plan, (National Trust Visitors Map) 5 Fig. 4 Boathouse from the East 6 Fig. 5 Photograph of Internal Structure 6 Fig. 6 The Boathouse from across the Lake (National Trust) 7 Fig. 7 1785 Map of Stourton (National Trust) 9 Fig. 8 Carpenters Marks Roof Truss 9
2 Feb 2017 1. Design
The National Trust wish to carry out conservation repairs and replace the metal profiled roofing on the Boathouse at Stourhead. There has been a metal roof in place at least since the Listing description was written but it is most probable that it would have originally been slate, in common with most of the other buildings in the gardens of a similar age, welsh slate is to be used. The timber roof structure will be repaired on a like for like basis.
Stone walls will be repointed and where necessary stones replaced. The installation of a metal gate to the pedestrian door opening, and creating a small window opening in the north-east gable end, will improve the micro-climate, reducing internal condensation and therefore rot and woodworm problems. Consent is sought for existing metal security gates on the wet dock entrances to be altered to arched heads to reflect the arched roof structure and rock arches of the wet dock openings.
2. Access
The stone and brick steps down to the boathouse doorway will be reset to make access easier. Visual access to the interior of the building will be increased by installing a metal gate into the doorway at the bottom of the steps to allow a view into the boathouse for the public.
3. Designations including Listing Entries
3.1 AONB and Conservation Area: Stourhead House, park and gardens lie within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Stourton Conservation Area.
3.2 Listing: Stourhead House is Grade I Listed and the boathouse is within the curtilage, the Palladian House replaced an earlier manor house in c. 1721-24.
The gardens, within which lie the lake and Boathouse, are also Listed Grade I in their own right. Relevant excerpts:
‘Henry Hoare II (1705-85) inherited Stourhead. In c 1733 he began to extend his father's gardens with a formal terrace walk of Scotch firs to the west of the house. After his return from Italy in 1741, he started to lay out an extensive landscape garden influenced by what he had seen during his travels. He created a lake from two existing ponds situated in a valley to the west of the house, which formed the foreground to the new gardens looked down upon from the hillside near the house’
‘The main circuit walk ends on the south-east side of the lake at the mid C18 Temple of Flora (Henry Flitcroft, listed grade I), with c 70m to its north a late C18 boathouse (listed grade II) on the lakeside.’
3 Feb 2017 ‘In 1946, Henry Hoare gave the house and most of the grounds to the National Trust’
The Boathouse was Listed in 1987 as Grade II for its Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The Listing Description:
‘ROCKWORK BOATHOUSE. List Entry Number: 1199203 STOURTON WITH GASPER STOURHEAD GARDENS ST 73 SE (east side) 6/150 Rockwork Boathouse GV II Boathouse on Garden Lake. 1794 for Richard Colt Hoare. Tufa limestone facade facing lake, with two arched openings to the wet docks, roughly double gabled facade conceals corrugated iron roof. Two wet docks with semi-circular heads, 2-span roof with arch- braced rafters like a wagon roof supported on stone walls.’
4. Description of the Building
4.1 Pevsner calls the building a ‘grotto boathouse’1 as the only elevation designed to be seen is that on the lake (facing west) which is built in tufa style stone to resemble a grotto or natural cave. The other elevations are coursed rubble stone, built into the bank and hill behind, and easily hidden from view by planting.
Fig. 2 Boathouse West ‘grotto style’ Elevation2
1 Pevsner N and Cherry B, 2002, The Buildings of England, Wiltshire, London, Yale University Press. p.498
2 National Trust Photograph 4 Feb 2017 4.2 Location and Orientation:
Fig. 3 Boathouse Location, # 10 on Plan, (North top of plan)3
4.3 Structure: Two bays with double pitched roof, disguised gables to west (tufa grotto effect to lake) and east (coursed rubble stone wall). West wall has two random stone arches forming the openings to the two bays which form two wet docks for small boats. North, East and South Walls are retaining walls.
4.4 External walls: West - random tufa style with 2 arches. North, East and South Walls are coursed rubbles stone outer leaf and ashlar stone inner leaf, all retaining walls. The East wall disguising the roof gables has ‘cock and hen’ coping (a more recent rebuild).
3 National Trust Visitors Plan 5 Feb 2017
Fig. 4 Boathouse from the East
4.5 Roof : Unusual arched bracing lower roof structure to upper pitched roof with bead and butt sarking board, on both bays. See Fig. 5. below. Central Valley Gutter.
Fig. 5 Photograph of Internal Structure
6 Feb 2017 4.6 Internal Walls: A central load-bearing wall of ashlar stone, with projecting sill for the lower arch bracing wall plate, above this is a rendered brick plinth for the upper pitched roof rafters and truss bearings.
4.7 Floors: Flagstones, probably Blue Lias, at the rounded end of the dock working platforms. The floor of the wet docks is unknown, a clearance of debris and silt, followed by survey is due to take place 19/20th March 2017.
4.8 Windows & Doors: There are metal gates to the boat dock openings to the lake, apparently installed following a spate of boat thefts. There is a single timber entrance door on the East elevation.
4.9 Services: There is no electricity or other services to the building
4.10 Condition: Walls and roof timbers suffer from severe condensation and the external retaining walls are damp, there is a lack of through ventilation, sarking boards meet the wall plate of the external walls. There is woodworm and rot in the timbers and some of these will have to be replaced as well as a number of missing timbers. The valley boards will need replacing.
5. Setting
Fig.6 The Boathouse Viewed from across the Lake4
4 Simon Newman, The National Trust 7 Feb 2017 5.1 The boathouse is not very visible from the rear and has been hidden by bamboo and rhododendron, it was not part of the original 1740s landscaped garden scheme, but was constructed in 17945 to fit within it, in the style of the grotto on the other side of the lake.
6. Statement of Significance
6.1 The boathouse was not part of the original 1740s landscape garden scheme of Henry Hoare, but was constructed by his grandson, Richard Colt Hoare (commonly just called Colt). Having initially not made any major changes on his inheritance in 1783, Colt returned from six year travelling in Europe in 1791 and immediately started a phase of changes to the gardens, estate and house, which lasted until approximately 18066. The Boathouse was constructed during this phase.
Woodbridge writes:
‘Colt disapproved of ‘nature overcrowded by buildings’, particularly if these were not in harmony with one another. Thus the gothic greenhouse, Chinese temple and Turkish tent were removed... together with the Palladian temple’7
This is an important phase in the development of the landscaped garden and the Boathouse thus reflects the taste and priorities of Colt. He was a landowner who enjoyed country pursuits in particular hunting, but fishing may well have been amongst his hobbies and reflected the change in the wealthy society at the time of spending more time in the country on their estates.8
The Listing gives the date of construction as 1794, the otherwise comprehensive book by Woodbridge (footnote 7) does not mention the boathouse. Certainly sketches of 1770 do not appear to show it, nor a map of 1785, Fig. 7 below.
An expensive ashlar finish to the stone internally upgrades the building from the mere functional. The pitch to the roof is only 26 degrees, and although small pieces of clay tile have been found in the surrounding soil, the low pitch, extensive use of slate on other garden buildings, and the low weight of slate compared to clay tile, indicate a slate roof covering.
5 Historic England List Entry under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest, ROCKWORK BOATHOUSE, List Entry Number: 1199203
6 Woodbridge K, Landscape and Antiquity, Aspects of English Culture at Stourhead 1718 to 1838, p.p. 144-153
7 Woodbridge K, 1970, Landscape and Antiquity, Aspects of English Culture at Stourhead 1718 to 1838, p.146
8 Girouard M, 1978, Life in the English Country House’, pp.217-218 8 Feb 2017
Fig. 7. 1785 Map of Stourton (National Trust)
The wagon style roof structure is unusual (Fig. 5), the curve is too rounded to mimic boat building techniques, but does reflect the rock arch openings to the lake. The construction of the Library at the House with its curved ceiling was also in progress in 1794, but has a much shallower curve. There is no physical evidence that lathes were attached to ceil in the structure at the boathouse. The upper simple pitched roof structure is contemporary and integral with the lower arched structure, combining at the trusses, and carpenters marks are on both arched and pitched parts, see Fig. 8.
Fig. 8 Carpenters Marks Roof Truss 9 Feb 2017 6.2 Significance
Very High Significance Grotto/tufa style west Part of the Internationally (International/National) elevation to Lake, and important Landscape setting Gardens High Significance 1794 Boathouse Building (Regional Significance) as part of Colt Hoare’s Changes to Stourhead, inc. the Arched roof structure Significant (Local Significance)
Possible Significance - Arched roofing structure Not fully understood why Unknown aspects unusual design and complicated structure used
7 Proposal
7.1 Roof - Conservation repairs to the roof structure and whitewash all internally, done on a like for like basis including oak rafters and truss, plus new oak ashlar posts will support the foot of truss where movement has occurred.
Black Breathable Membrane and bat-friendly mesh will be laid over the sarking boards, double batten and nail fix Welsh Slate, 9mm Celtic Penryn Heather Blue. Code 8 Lead valley and code 6 ridge roll and lead flashings will use existing connections to abutments. Iron half round gutters will be installed.
7.2 Walls – Some build-up of vegetation debris from around the north and south exterior walls will be removed to 500mm minimum below the wall plate, to a fall. A new ventilation opening will be created in the east wall 200 x 300mm to aid ventilation in the north dock, a metal bar centrally will be installed for safety reasons.
New pintles to hang the East timber door, behind and to south side of the existing opening, will be installed. The existing door pintles to be used for a new metal gate which will improve ventilation to the south dock and allow the public to view internally.
The wet dock’s security gates and frame will be altered to an arched design to reflect the roof and rock arches; the base of each of the gates (under the water level) will have ‘Expamet Metal Mesh 50-89HRG, applied to reduce debris and silt ingress.
Replace the broken East Door Opening Chilmark external stone lintle on a like for like basis and pin the door opening lintle stones internally. Repointing in lime as required.
7.3 Steps – Conservation Repairs and reset stone and brick steps. 10 Feb 2017
8 Heritage Impact Assessment
8.1 Roof – The profile of the roof will have almost no difference in height (1.5mm), the proposed double batten and slate equal 59mm over the sarking board, the existing metal roofing sheets 32.5mm height and batten 25mm being 57.5mm. The existing chasing in the stone will be used for the lead flashings. Removing the metal roof and replacing with welsh slate will have a positive effect for both the setting and authenticity.
Any carpenters marks and any other information that may arise during works will be recorded once access is available, to improve knowledge of the roof
8.2 Walls – The timber door will be preserved in situ. The new ventilation opening to the north dock east wall will require the removal of some of the internal ashlar and external rubble stone. The loss of this small area of original fabric is outweighed by reducing the problem with condensation and therefore improving the preservation of the historic fabric.
9. Conclusions
The conservation repairs, minor alterations and replacing the metal roofing with welsh slate restore the building whilst reducing the problems of damp and condensation.
10. Bibliography
Girouard M, 1978, Life in the English Country House’, London, Yale University Press
National Trust, 2016, Heritage Assessment incorporating Statement of Significance Pump House Stourhead House
Pevsner N and Cherry B, 2002, The Buildings of England, Wiltshire, London, Yale University Press.
St Ann’s Gate Architects, 2014, Heritage, Design and Access Statement Stourhead Lower Pumphouse,
Woodbridge K, 1970, Landscape and Antiquity, Aspects of English Culture at Stourhead 1718 to 1838, Oxford, Clarendon Press
11 Feb 2017