Tottenham House & Estate

TOTTENHAM HOUSE & ESTATE Heritage Report Volume 1 History of the House and Park

December 2017

worlledge associates Tottenham House & Estate HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AND PARK VOLUME 1

CONTENTS

1.00 Executive Summary

2.00 Summary

3.00 Introduction

4.00 Location & Description of Site

5.00 Historical Development of Tottenham House & Stables

6.00 Historical Development of Park & Forest

7.00 Tottenham House & Lancelot Brown

8.00 Map Regression

9.00 Heritage Assets

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1.00 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Estate back into a viable long-term use, and secure the removal • Charles Bruce commissioned a country house in the Palladian of the heritage assets from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk style fashionable among the Whig political elite in the 18th The intelligent management of change is a key principle Register. century, designed by Lord Burlington. This was a square villa necessary to sustain the historic environment for present and of three central bays with corner towers, two storeys over future generations to enjoy. Historic England and successive Volume 1 provides a general history of Tottenham House, the basements with an attic and flanking service buildings. governments have published policy and advice that extends influential people who shaped its architectural and social history, our understanding of the historic environment and develops our its development and redevelopment. It also tracks the design • The landscaping of the park and rides around the house competency in making decisions about how to manage it. history and development of the landscaped park and part of the were important components of Bruce’s vision for the Estate, Savernake Forest. and Lancelot Brown was consulted on the design of the park Paragraphs 4-10 of Historic England’s Good Practice Advice and landscaping. Much of the planting was undertaken and Note 2 (Managing Significance in Decision-Taking in the Historic Volume 2 explains the heritage significance of Tottenham House overseen by Lord Bruce’s steward, Charles Bill. Environment) explain that applications (for planning permission & Estate. It also discusses the buildings and structures on the and listed building consent) have a greater likelihood of success site, which, though not all identified in the statutory register of • c.1818, Charles Brundenell-Bruce had a new stable block and better decisions will be made when applicants and local listed buildings, hold some architectural or historical interest. erected on the approach to the house. This large and planning authorities assess and understand the particular nature showy structure proclaimed the wealth and status of the of the significance of an asset and (in this case) the contribution Volume 3 provides a conservation management plan for the owner to those who viewed it. Building works on the main the setting makes to its significance. site, which examines the ways that the heritage significance of house continued from 1824 – 1873, encasing the house in the Estate should be considered in design and management limestone ashlar and extending it with symmetrical quadrant The National Planning Policy Framework provides a very proposals that will secure the future of these at-risk heritage wings on both sides with end pavilions. It is of two storeys similar message in paragraphs 128 and 129 expecting both assets. it outlines the opportunities and challenges and plots how over basements with an attic over the central block, three- applicant and local planning authority to take responsibility for pre-application discussions with key stakeholders have informed bay linking blocks to either side and three-bay end wings. understanding the significance of a heritage asset and the impact the submitted proposals. Attached to the south elevation is a conservatory dating of a development proposal on that significance, seeking to avoid c.1830, now dilapidated. unacceptable conflict between the asset’s conservation and any Volume 4 sets out the policy framework for assessing the impact aspect of the proposal. of proposed development on the significance of heritage assets, • Regarding the history of the landscape and grounds at the including their settings and then within that policy context site, it is possible to date the Great Walk and Avenues, as The application site includes Tottenham House, its associated examines the impact of the submitted proposals and whether or well as some of the plantations and gardens to the early structures, the Park around the house, and the southern part not it would result in any harm. 17th century. In the early 18th century, several further of the Savernake Forest. The site comprises the Main House, improvements were made including the reinstatement of predominantly 19th century in appearance though 18th century Volume 5 includes the illustrations, maps and other evidence the deer park and improvements to the pleasure grounds. A in origin, ancillary service buildings, The Old Stables, Walled referred to in volumes 1 - 4 kitchen garden was added to the south of the house at this Garden, pleasure gardens, and a deer park. The House is Grade time. Several new axial rides were created. I listed in the Historic England National Heritage List for England, KEY POINTS FROM VOLUME 1: while other buildings are listed Grade II*. Much of the site also ‘THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE & PARK’ • In the second half of the 18th century, the rigid formality of within a Registered Park. • The Estate is part of the Savernake Forest, a royal hunting the landscape softened as a result of the naturalistic style of forest with a documented history dating from the 11th century. Lancelot Brown. The pleasure grounds were remodelled and a This aim and purpose of this document is to identify the It was formerly owned by the Seymour family, whose daughter, new kitchen garden constructed. Serpentine rides and clumps significance of these heritage assets within their settings to Jane, married Henry VIII. In 1714 it was inherited by Charles of trees introduced. An additional network of axial rides was inform development, repair and restoration proposals for the Bruce. created, as well as the Eight Walks near the centre of the House and Park. These proposals seek to bring the House and forest.

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• Further changes were made between 1850-1870, when the house, to a place of entertainment, to institutional use and significance will sometimes be more robust and more capable boundary between the park and forest was removed, creating now vacant. These changes in use and role are reflected in the of accommodating change than areas, which though of lesser a substantial ‘forest park’ for deer. When the mansion was way the landscape around it has also changed, from hunting significance, may be more sensitive to change. used as Hawtrey’s Prepartory School c.1880, alterations were forest to designed park. made to accommodate rectangular enclosures. • The site, buildings and the landscape are at risk. A lack • The Park provides a multitude of viewing experiences: long of repairs and maintenance over an extended period have KEY POINTS FROM VOLUME 2: views from high vantage points over the wider countryside, resulted in significant damage to the house and in the case of ‘SIGNIFICANCE AND SETTING’ intimate and enclosed views from the routes around the Old Stables, partial collapse. • Placing the buildings and park into their historical context and through the landscape and wooded areas, dynamic and describing their characteristics and appearance is an experiences that unfold as people pass through the area, • A key imperative is to find an appropriate new use and clearly important component of the evidence gathering exercise revealing curated views of nature or built forms. As a viewing the one for which the buildings were originally designed would to inform understanding of the place’s archaeological, place, the Park is characterised by movement through a be the most appropriate way to sustain the site’s heritage architectural, historic and artistic interest. landscape to create visual stories which unfold, or by interest. Such a reinstated use, as a country house, needs providing destinations that are in themselves eye catching, but to be sustainable and provide for the needs of 21st century • The house and landscape are inextricably linked. In order from which there are a range of views and different viewing country house owners. to help articulate the significance of this complex site, the experiences. Core to this, physically and subconsciously is heritage values for each element of the site are considered the Main House, in some places deliberately hidden from view • If Tottenham House & Estate is to be successfully reinstated separately, though many aspects are interrelated and and in others central to the view which commands authority as a private residence, it follows that the gardens also need interdependent. over the landscape as a symbol of exclusivity and intimidation. to be regenerated, retaining elements of earlier designs, including, where appropriate, the very best contemporary • Tottenham House & Estate is the product of 900 years of • Designed views express the essence of the country house, design and amenities. ownership by one family and its descendants, involving sitting within an extensive parkland setting that exhibits continuous development and renewal in response to changing essential interdependence and statement of control and • In addition, provision must be made for buildings essential needs, aspirations and fortunes. authority over the landscape. for the staffing and sustenance of the house and gardens, for transportation and garaging suitable for a 21st century estate, • It is representative of the internationally respected English KEY POINTS FROM VOLUME 3: and for Security Lodges positioned in a location appropriate country house tradition, a house on a grand scale, associated ‘CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN’ to the current boundary of Tottenham Estate. with a particular kind of power, built primarily to impress and • This volume sets out a site specific framework to help entertain the elite and influential in British society, set in an decisions about how to look after the site’s heritage • The extent of the repairs necessary and the costs required extensive designed parkland. significance whilst ensuring it continues to have a viable pose a significant challenge. Returning the property back future, with the aim of arresting the current decline in the to a country house provides a mechanism for repair. The • The Park was not created by a single hand but has evolved condition of the building fabric and landscape, and enhancing opportunity is unique, given the small client base for such a as each successive owner has added to or remodeled the its significance. project. To fail to meet the needs of the 21st century country landscape, following contemporary advice and trends in house owner could place the buildings and landscape at landscape design through the centuries. The House & Park • Levels of significance for the landscape and the buildings have serious risk of further decay, and potentially force the property were designed with exclusion and seclusion in mind, with been mapped – high, medium and low. However, this analysis being broken up for sale as separate lots. house and park working together to project the dominance needs to be managed carefully and intelligently. It should not and power of the 18th and 19th century country estate. be presumed that areas of low significance should be targeted • The repairs, new work and buildings needed to make the as opportunities for change and conversely that areas of Estate functional should that respect the social and functional • The use and role of the building has changed over time, as high significance should be preserved without change. It hierarchy that the existing buildings exhibit; in their plan form indeed has the building itself, from hunting lodge, to country is evident in the research and analysis that areas of high and disposition between each other. Where appropriate,

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the future owner or developer of the site should promote • The sites for the new buildings are chosen to reflect the be conveyed. Views to and from the house were deliberately public understanding, intellectual access, appreciation and historic pattern of use (service buildings in the service areas, designed, as were views within the park, some incorporating enjoyment of the heritage assets. If any conflict emerged new dwellings outside the Park as isolated rural dwellings, classical buildings to enhance the experience and reinforce the between the delivery of an appropriate new use or new buildings within the Park as eye catchers or control points). subtle messages encapsulated in the design. development with planning, heritage, landscape or ecological The proposed Lake creates a different dynamic and an priorities then every reasonable measure will be taken to opportunity for innovation. As the rigid formality of landscape design gave way during the eliminate or minimise that conflict. second half of the 18th century to a more naturalistic landscape, Lancelot Brown was consulted to undertake some works to alter KEY POINTS FROM VOLUME 4: 2.00 SUMMARY the landscape, though not all of the early landscape was swept HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT away. Much was retained. Interestingly, at around the same • Tottenham House was last used as a private house over 80 The application site lies in the southern part of the Savernake time, extensive axial planting was undertaken by Lord Bruce’s years ago. The proposal is to reinstate its original use as a Forest and includes Tottenham House, the Old Stables, the steward, Charles Bill, in contrast to the naturalistic planting large country house estate. The challenge is immense, not walled garden and associated structures, as well as the pleasure typical of Brown. A new walled garden was created employing least because of the very poor and dilapidated condition of grounds and parkland surrounding the house. All are highly- the latest technology in growing exotic produce for the table. the buildings, but also in the need to provide substantial new graded designated heritage assets and all are on Historic Lavish dining offering choice and unusual fruit and vegetables infrastructure and ancillary accommodation that would be England’s Heritage at Risk Register. was an important part of the function of a large country house necessary to serve the needs of a 21st century country estate. and Estate. The aim of this document is to identify the significance of • The buildings and the landscape are at risk and these the heritage assets within their setting in order to inform Changes in how the elite entertained and the increased proposals would halt further decline thus preserving existing development, repair and restoration proposals that seek to sophistication in house design led Charles Brudenell-Bruce, evidence and historical value. bring the Estate back into a viable long-term use and secure the who inherited in 1814, to alter and extend the house on a grand removal of the heritage assets from the Heritage at Risk Register. scale. In around 1818, a new stable block was erected in a very • In reviving the original use of Tottenham House as a country prominent position on the approach to the house to replace the house its historic value and the associated political and HISTORY earlier stables on the same site. This large and showy structure cultural history attached to it is sustained. The Estate is part of the Savernake Forest, a royal hunting forest proclaimed to all who viewed it the wealth and status of the with documented history dating back to the 11th century. It owner. The house received similar treatment starting in the • The aesthetic value of the buildings and landscape is in was in the ownership of the Seymour family in the late medieval 1820s with building work continuing until 1873. Burlington’s brick decline and has certainly been since the mid 20th century, period, who lived at Wolf Hall, just outside the Park to the south. house was encased in stone with some elements removed and if not before. Their derelict state and poor repair demand It is here that Henry VIII visited Jane Seymour, who he later extended with symmetrical quadrant wings on both sides with significant investment. As evidenced in the previously married. end pavilions. A conservatory was added to the garden front permitted, but failed scheme for a hotel and golf resort, there and the pleasure grounds remodelled. The principal rooms were is the risk that securing that the required level of investment There was a hunting lodge on the site of the current mansion, highly decorated, though the main hall and staircase were quite would seriously compromise the heritage significance of the which was replaced by Charles Bruce after he inherited the plain. assets, including their settings. Estate in 1714. He commissioned his brother-in-law, Lord Burlington, to design a new country house in the Palladian style. It is this building which largely survives today. Although there • Restoring the House as a private dwelling, in the country This style was highly sought after amongst the Whig political have been some alterations to accommodate institutional uses, house tradition, will enhance the aesthetic interest of the elite because of its links with the ancient past and the principles the fabric remains largely intact, though dilapidated. buildings and landscape and not deplete it as the hotel of classicism, which embodied the ideals of the Enlightenment. and golf resort would have done. The introduction of new Burlington also designed much of the grounds, as the landscape buildings is in response to the modern requirements of the context of the grand country house was an important part country house owner. of the imposing and authoritative architectural message to

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3.00 INTRODUCTION a deer park. The Estate was formerly much more extensive and The Cundy works included the removal of Burlington’s service the historic landscape was designed in relation to this wider wings. The main house, listed Grade I, is in poor condition and is context. Some features in particular within the landscaped currently on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register, as grounds only make sense when viewed in the historic context. The main, west front is approached via Column Drive which leads are the stables, listed Grade II*, and the whole of the Grade II* The principal elements outside the site are Ailesbury Column directly up to the grand Ionic portico. The perfect symmetry registered Park and Garden. which has the very strong axis of Column Ride leading up to the of the building is echoed in the symmetry of the planting in the mansion house; the Grand Avenue, another strong axis which platoons of trees on the approach. The site has a very long, interesting and well-documented runs the full length of the Savernake Forest, north-west to south- history. In the interest of producing a manageable document, this east; the Saddle Ride and Eight Walks, the meeting point of eight STABLES statement will draw on the extensive documentation, published axial rides including Grand Avenue. Just to the north of the house is the eye-catching stable block, and unpublished, which has already been produced and extract listed Grade II*. This predates the alterations to the main house, those aspects of its history which contribute most to its heritage The site occupies uneven sloping ground of parkland with clumps having been constructed in c1818 by Thomas Cundy the elder. significance. of trees, blocks of woodland, tree-lined formal rides and a small This is also clad in limestone ashlar with a slate roof, of two amount of arable land as well as formal gardens and pleasure storeys and topped by a clock tower. It is a rectangular block This statement will then be used to inform a conservation plan for grounds. There are designed views within the park to and from with a central open courtyard, currently in very poor condition. the Estate and the nature, extent and location of any proposed the house as well as to designed features within the park. The These stables replaced earlier stables on the same site. development, both now and in the future. The conservation plan wider setting is rural with far-reaching views from the park and will also help to identify and prioritise repairs to, and restoration Tottenham Ridge extending to the south-west, south and KITCHEN GARDEN of, the heritage assets on the site to secure their removal from south-east over adjacent land that is mixed-use agricultural land. To the north again is the walled kitchen garden, about 5 acres the Heritage at Risk Register as soon as possible. in extent, dating from the late 18th century. This is divided into MANSION HOUSE two compartments by an internal wall which has a number of As Tottenham House has an important place in social, political, The core of the mansion house, listed Grade I, dates from 1720s interesting sheds and structures either side of it. It is thought architectural and landscape history, there is a considerable when Lord Burlington designed a new country house for his to be have been designed by Lancelot Brown and replaced an amount of published material which has been consulted in brother-in-law, Charles Bruce. This was a square villa of three earlier kitchen garden to the south east of the main house. The the preparation of this statement as well as archive material. central bays with corner towers, two storeys over basements with Menagerie and site of Home Farm lie just outside the walled Much research has been done based on previously published an attic and flanking service buildings. This was extended again garden. The garden buildings have all collapsed and the garden documentary sources. Where the work is scholarly and properly by Lord Burlington in the 1730s with links to four pavilions and wall is in poor condition with sections that have collapsed also referenced, it has been used as a source. Full references are the earlier flanking service buildings. included in Appendix 1. GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS This was extensively altered and further extended by Thomas The pleasure grounds are situated to the south-west, north- Cundy the Elder and his son, Thomas Cundy the Younger, east, and south-east of the mansion. They are separated from 4.00 LOCATION & DESCRIPTION OF SITE starting in 1824 but not finished until 1873. The central core the park in places by a late eighteenth century ha-ha introduced of the current building is the much-altered original Burlington by Lancelot Brown, which reused bricks from the earlier walled Tottenham House stands in the centre of a landscaped park and building, with the four pavilions also being retained and much garden. pleasure grounds which are part of the ancient Savernake Forest, altered. The whole is now faced in limestone ashlar with slate situated just to the south-east of Marlborough. roofs behind parapets. It is of two storeys over basements with London Ride to the north-east is densely planted on both sides. an attic over the central (Burlington) block and central north wing. To the south-east front of the house are the terrace and formal The site comprises the mansion house complex, predominantly It comprises the central five-bay block, three-bay linking blocks gardens including the Exedra Lawn, from which there is a fine 19th century in appearance, though 18th century in origin, with to either side and three-bay end wings. Quadrant arms link either view of the park to the south-east and the hills in the far distance. ancillary service buildings, stables, kitchen garden, pleasure side to single storey pavilions. Attached to the rear of the south Beyond this is open land with clumps of trees providing the grounds and extensive parkland surrounding the house including quadrant is a conservatory dating from 1830s, now dilapidated. setting for the house when viewed from the south. The land to

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Figure 1 - 1583 Saxton Map. Source British Library

Figure 2 - 1645 Blaeu Map. Source British Library Figure 3 - 1743 Prospect View by Pieter Rysbrack. Source Lowell-Libson LTD. A Noble Prospect, Pieter Andreas Rysbrack’s View of Tottenham Park.

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the south-east of this, out of sight of the house, drops away and is currently arable land.

The broad Great Walk to the south-west of the house leads up to the reservoir which is on the site of the former Banqueting House designed by Lord Burlington. This has a scattering of trees either side and runs through the middle of the deer park. Tottenham Ridge leads from the reservoir in a south-easterly direction on to Langfield Copse, whilst to the north-west it leads to the Octagon Lawn in the centre of which is the Octagon Pavilion, an early 18th century summerhouse designed by Burlington and listed grade II*.

Coming round to the north west of the house is parkland with clumps of trees and areas of woodland of various sizes are scattered across it. Two early 18th century ornamental rides, both lined by a series of platoons, run across the park into Savernake Forest. Column Ride, named after the Ailesbury Column, listed Grade II, is part of the main approach to the house. Saddle Ride runs from the north-west of the stables at a slight angle to Grand Avenue, which it joins just south of Laidens Lye in the forest.

To the north of the site is the park of Savernake Forest characterised by dense woodland mixed with open pastures and lawns scattered with ornamental tree clumps, which are intersected by a complex network of ornamental rides and avenues, both formal and informal in design. This is an important part of the setting of the site which was designed as a whole and treated as such until relatively recently.

The course of a Roman road runs from north-west to south-east through the length of the park and the Forest, approximately Figure 4 - 1730 West Entrance Front by Pieter Rysbrack. Source Lowell-Libson LTD. A Noble Prospect, Pieter Andreas Rysbrack’s View of Tottenham Park. along the line of Grand Avenue and through the current walled garden.

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5.00 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF of Savernake Forest, a unique situation as there were no other mansion then. TOTTENHAM HOUSE & OLD STABLES forests in private hands at this time. However, when Elizabeth Seymour married Lord Bruce in 1676, The Estate has a very long and rich history. Only those elements Somerset was executed in 1552. When his son Edward, Earl of neither of them had much wealth. The mansion is presumed to specifically relevant to understanding its significance are Hertford, came of age in 1560, he inherited a crumbling manor have burnt down at this time. In order to curtail expenditure and discussed here. Plans showing the phased development of the house at Wolf Hall and a deer park constantly being poached. raise some money, Lord Bruce disparked much of the forest, house, stables and Estate buildings are included in Appendix 2. Rather than repair Wolf Hall, he settled on enlarging Tottenham with about 400 acres being converted to agricultural land. Lodge, where he had stayed as a child during Henry VIII’s visits Interestingly, tenants were not to interfere with any avenues of EARLY HISTORY to Wolf Hall. trees and had to use the same farming methods so that the land Pre-historic activity was taking place in the area long before the might revert to park as before. parkland was designed and landscaped. There is evidence of The lodge must have been further altered and extended in the settlement in the area over a very long period from the Bronze late 17th century as John Aubrey, visiting the Seymours at However, Lord Bruce had to flee the country because of his Age onwards. Tottenham Lodge in 1672, described it as set in ‘a most parkley Jacobite sympathies and the Estate is recorded as being in a ground and romancy pleasant place; several walkes of great poor state by the turn of the century. An archaeological evaluation of the site to the south east of the length, of trees planted’. It seems to have been a newly built mansion has revealed some evidence of this early settlement going back to the Bronze Age. There is evidence of an enclosure in the southern corner near to Langfield Copse, used by Bronze Age, Early-Middle Iron Age and Romano-British settlers. The ridge bounding East Park has evidence of late Bronze Age-early Iron Age settlement with some subsequent Romano-British use. This is connected to the development of the Winchester to Mildenhall Roman road which runs across the north east corner of the site.

That this was an important Romano-British settlement is evidenced by the area of pottery kilns, some of which are Scheduled, associated with the Savernake pottery industry just south west of the mansion. There is other evidence of organized Romano-British settlement in this area.

16TH-17TH CENTURY The Seymour family of Wolf Hall, who were wardens of the forest from the mid-15th century, had a hunting lodge on the site of the current mansion dating back to at least the 1530s. The children of the family had to decamp to the lodge when Henry VIII visited Wolf Hall, which he did on three occasions.

Jane Seymour’s brother, Edward, created Earl of Hertford and then Duke of Somerset, was uncle to Edward VI and was made Lord Protector. In this position he acquired absolute ownership Figure 5 - 1826 Thomas Cundy (the younger) - Ground Floor Plan. Source Wiltshire Records Office. REF: 1300/2827

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MANSION HOUSE i. The Burlington House Charles, Viscount Bruce had come of age in 1703 though he did not inherit the Estate until 1714. He set about making good after years of neglect and commissioned his brother-in-law, Lord Burlington, to design a new country house in the Palladian style.

This style was highly sought after amongst the Whig political elite because of its links with the ancient past and the principles of classicism, which embodied the ideals of the Enlightenment. Burlington also undertook much designing of the grounds, as the context in which a grand country house was seen was an important part of the message to be conveyed. Views to and from the house were deliberately designed, as were views within the park, some incorporating classical buildings to enhance the experience and reinforce the subtle messages encapsulated in the design.

Work on the new building began in 1721, after Burlington’s return from Italy in 1720s and concluded with the construction of the Banqueting House c1743, visible in Rysbrack’s view in the far right of the painting.

The idea of the house must have been conceived shortly after the Italian tour. Burlington returned to home festivities – the marriage on the 2nd of February 1720 of his sister Juliana to Charles Bruce. ‘That this event would soon lead to building works at the venerable, but fire scarred hunting seat in the Savernake Forest, is shown by a note in the Bruce Papers’ indicating that Henry Flitcroft, Burlington’s first draughtsman and clerk of the Figure 6 - 1854 South East View, Gould & Rock & Company. Source Wiltshire Records Office works, visited the house in July 1720, ‘proof that Lord Bruce was putting his brother-in-law to the test as an architect’. John Harris favour of a more compact plan. In the end it was not scale but was flanked by two blocks which housed kitchens and offices. theorises that Burlington himself must have also made the trip to architectural style which would prove of great influence. The The blocks, faced with astylar elevations, based upon Palladio’s Tottenham by July 1720. turning point for Burlington had come in 1720-21 with his large Villa Valmarana at Vigardolo, are perhaps ‘the earliest evidence purchase of the corpus of Jones, Webb and Palladio’s drawings of his interest in Palladio’s drawings’. The body of the house The designs for the house, carefully synthesising Palladian through which he was able to recognise Jones’s innovation. was based upon John Webb’s Amesbury House comprising and Jonesian motifs, went through several stages as attested of four towers which were pierced on the entrance front with to by the large number of drawings, the earliest of which, The impact of this collection on his style is quite notable at Venetian windows. This was possibly the first instance of their in Burlington’s hand, still survive. Initial plans were for the Tottenham. This was the first house in which Burlington revealed use in Britain, predating Colen Campbell’s designs for Houghton conversion of Bruce’s modest hunting lodge into a palace, with his debt to Jones. The elevation of the garden portico was (c 1723). The mouldings, entablatures and windows visible in an elevation 88 feet wide. These were subsequently rejected in adapted from Jones’ Queen’s House, Greenwich. The courtyard Rysbrack’s view, demonstrate that Burlington decided to deploy

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the Ionic order. This iteration of the house was not to survive long as, in 1738, Burlington was called upon to enlarge the house adding wings on each end. The 19th century saw a massive remodelling campaign that resulted in the Burlington building being altered, with elements removed and extensions to form a large Palladian mansion. ii. The Cundy House Shortly after inheriting the Estate in 1814, Charles Brudenell- Bruce, the 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, engaged the architect Thomas Cundy the Elder to modestly alter Tottenham House. Upon the death of Thomas Cundy the Elder, his son, Thomas Cundy the Younger, was engaged to extend and greatly alter Tottenham House in a grand and magnificent scale with a series of splendid reception rooms and a marble ballroom. The remodelling was driven by a number of factors. Firstly, there were stylistic and social factors to consider.

The Burlington house was, to a certain extent, out of ‘fashion’ and perhaps more importantly, out of step with the changing patterns of social life. While the symbolic function of the country house as the focus of economic, social and political activities of the peers and the gentry had remained unchanged, its character had been significantly altered.

By the beginning of the 19th century, it was becoming clear that the profound alterations in the nature of upper-class British life necessitated certain changes in the character of their houses. As social life became more informal, the strict formality of 17th Figure 7 - Ceiling decorative plaster work and early-18th century great houses, with their series of state apartments, became less desirable. As Mark Girouard has own country houses. Now, more than ever, aristocratic owners treason in 1697 and, having done so, set about a campaign to effectively demonstrated, remodelled houses had sequences of felt the need to affirm their status and secure their hold on secure the family’s interests in Marlborough. rooms more attuned to new modes of entertaining, in which a power. This was the situation facing Charles Brudenell-Bruce, number of different activities – dancing, card playing, tea, supper, whose own set of personal circumstances presented a particular The ‘palace’ that was to reinvent Burlington’s ‘compact mansion’ and polite conversation, for example – might take place either at urgency. He became the Earl of Ailesbury in 1814 and then 1st was commissioned in response to the need to preserve these the same time or in a more informal order. Marquess of Ailesbury in 1821. Brudenell-Bruce was, perhaps interests. Its construction, spanning some five decades (c1824- more than most, keenly aware of the need to preserve his 1873), was an act that eventually impoverished the family but Of greater significance were changes to the patron profile. situation. which in the immediate term, as J.H Bettey has argued, ‘finally Thanks to a relatively stable and prosperous 18th century, the demonstrated beyond doubt, the power and prestige of the quintessential country house owners, aristocratic landowning His father, Thomas Brudenell-Bruce had only recently regained family and their political and economic dominance over the whole patrons, found themselves facing considerable competition from the Ailesbury title under King George III, which the family lost district including their tight control over the town of Marlborough the increasing numbers of mercantile classes constructing their when the first Earl, Thomas, Lord Bruce, was imprisoned for and its parliamentary representation.’ For the 1st Marquess,

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the existing ancestral home lacked the grandeur sufficient to the right of the hall has survived almost unchanged. Not only and chapel. A portico to the west front was introduced and the square with such political ambitions and it was certainly not does the decoration appear to date from the 18th century but the garden front remodelled. A terrace was created over the latter befitting the status of a 19th century nobleman. A ‘proportionate inventories of 1744 and of 1856 both describe the room as having affording views over the park to the countryside beyond. magnificence’ was thus required. painted panels on the walls. It appears that no expense was spared. The exterior was Buildings had to accord with the position and resources of their The design of Thomas Cundy the Younger involved infilling designed in the Palladian style which, by the 1820s, had generally patrons. As Jones argues: around elements of Burlington’s house to form light wells to each passed out of fashion in favour of other styles, particularly Greek side of the central block and providing flanking curved screens Revival. The interior was more typical of prevailing Regency ‘the magnificent man’s expenditure is suitable as well as great... linked to pavilions on the west frontage of the building. taste. Quality fittings and modern conveniences were installed, consequently the objects he produces must be great and including the provision of water closets with sanitary ware suitable...the motive of the magnificent man...will be the nobility of The south range housed reception rooms. Behind the south brought in from London; an early form of central heating; inlaid the action.’ screen there was a conservatory, while the south pavilion was an floors and imported marble chimneypieces. Plasterers were orangery. The library and drawing rooms occupied the east range brought in for decorative ceiling work. The conservatory was This ‘nobility in action’ is clearly evident at Cundy’s Tottenham of the house and the north range was to house the dining room manufactured by Richards and Jones of Birmingham, who seem Park where we witness Brudenell-Bruce’s efforts to correlate his own moral and material value to the house in terms of scale and expenditure.

Plans for a new house appear to have been set in motion as soon as the Marquess inherited the Estate. In 1814, Thomas Cundy the Elder was carrying out the first survey of the existing house. By 1820, Cundy and P.F Robinson had submitted a series of designs for remodelling the house. These went through various stages. In 1821 Jeffry Wyatt produced another set of proposals. A year later in 1822 Cundy undertook another survey resulting in a fourth set of drawings. The latter plans, which were approved, appear to have at first involved relatively moderate intervention, with plans to encase the existing red brick structure in stone leaving the tower rooms at the corners of the house undisturbed. By 1826, the remodelling had taken a new direction. Following the death of Thomas Cundy the Elder, works at Tottenham Park were assumed by his son, Thomas Cundy the Younger, who took a radically different approach to the project, with much demolition, remodelling and extending of the house, including the infilling of the north and south elevations between the Burlington Pavilions.

Work had started towards the end of 1824 on the aggrandisement of the house and building accounts make it clear that the structural alterations were indeed limited and that Burlington’s house was left almost intact. The Grey Parlour on Figure 8 - Internal elevation of Old Stables 2013

12 Tottenham House & Estate HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AND PARK VOLUME 1

to have specialised in this type of construction and this was Only the use of the basement rooms cannot be re-created. It The few pictures so far discovered of the house between 1835 complete by 1835. is evident that considerable modifications took place to the and 1860 depict the building from the south east, thus avoiding basement when the new kitchen wing was finally built. Among the lopsided west front. This front must have presented a very However, after 10 years of building work the house was still only other changes the ice house, originally in the grounds and odd, unbalanced appearance with its one curving stone screen partially complete. Cundy’s 1826 design for the north end of the thatched in 1835, was moved inside and located under the east and pavilion and one old-fashioned brick wing. house shows a chapel and dining room on the ground floor with portico. kitchens and sculleries tucked behind a screen which mirrored that on the south side. This service wing was not even started in 1836 and, with the 18th century kitchens and service yard still occupying the space to the north-west of the building. The design for this section of the house was therefore modified.

In the lower part of the wing, the chapel, basement and ground floor had replaced Cundy’s dining room before 1856. The room designed by Cundy as a library was fitted out first as a dining room, probably in the 1840s, and then, by 1856, as a sort of museum displaying objects of interest. It is probable that this construction gap explains the difference in style between ceiling, chimney pieces and the boarded rather than parquet floor.

The chapel must have been constructed and fitted up some time between 1835 and 1856, probably using Cundy’s original layout for the interior and consisted of ‘the Chapel down stairs’ fitted with benches for the household, a gallery and a ‘Gallery Principal Part’, comfortably furnished for the family. It occupied the space which later became the gymnasium for Hawtrey’s Preparatory School.

At first floor level the design for the bedrooms, conceived as a mirror image of the south wing, was never implemented and the area remained ‘unfinished’ until after 1856. Around the same time a set of bedrooms for the men servants was constructed in the roof space of the north wing and the basement to attic stone stairs inserted to serve that area.

The use of rooms on the ground and first floors in the mid century can be worked out from an inventory taken on the death of the 1st Marquess in 1856 cross referenced to the built plan. It is noteworthy that a mere 30 years after parquet floors had been fitted at great expense, most of the floors were covered with Brussels carpet ‘planned to room’. Figure 9 - Charles Price 1716. Source Wiltshire Records Office

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In 1860, work commenced towards building the new wing and four-stall stables on the front range were considerably altered by St Katharine’s Chapel was built away from the house, which was about 1900 and all original stall divisions and gates lost. reported as ‘intended for the accommodation of the household, in place of the existing chapel in the house, and for inhabitants of The Tack Room had original match boarding to the walls and some hamlets bordering the park and forest’. original metal tack support hooks. And there was a box seat for horse blankets at the end of the room. The Harness Room This move freed up the chapel space in the house and according also had original match boarding to the walls and original metal to the basement plan of 1895 the area originally marked as the harness support arms. chapel became the servant’s hall. At first floor level, central on the north and south courtyard A pavilion was created to match the orangery on the opposite elevations, were door openings with original metal jibs attached side of the front courtyard, but this new pavilion seems to have to the outer wall. These would allow hoisting of horse feed to first been nothing more than a shell. The later basement plan shows it floor level assisted by the existing internal mechanical winding as housing coal and coke with a tunnel under the yard, probably gear also at first floor. The hay would have been stored at this for supplying these commodities to the house. It would, however, level. In the same area at first floor were floor traps to lower the have provided the much-needed symmetry to complete the main horse feed down to the stables. elevation as seen today. Above the entrance opening, the central bay has the Brudenell- The last of the works, installing the lions on the screen walls, was Bruce arms prominently displayed and is surmounted by a clock completed in 1873, nearly 50 years after works started. It is this tower and cupola. This large and showy structure proclaimed to building which largely survives today. Although there have been all who viewed it the wealth and status of the owner. some alterations to accommodate 20th century institutional uses, the fabric remains largely intact, though dilapidated and, in some cases, heavily compromised from their original form 6.00 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PARK and intention. & FOREST

OLD STABLES EARLY LANDSCAPE In 1818-20, a new stable block was erected on the site of The only significant evidence of the earliest interventions in Figure 10 - Tottenham House 1786 Map. Source Wiltshire Records Office REF:1300/360H previous stables. This building is in a very prominent position the natural landscape is the Roman road marked on maps on the approach to the house. This was deliberately sited and running approximately along the line of Grand Avenue and which enforceable. designed to be visible from the main approach to the house continues in a straight line into the countryside beyond the park, along the Saddle Ride. It is the work of Thomas Cundy the Elder though this is not visually evident. Somerset’s son, Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, inheriting the who started the aggrandisement of Tottenham House with this Estate after his father’s execution, had to find another solution to stable block. 16TH-17TH CENTURY protecting his park and this he did through emparking it, building The royal hunting forest of Savernake has a well-documented a high bank with a wooden fence on top, all around two huge It is constructed of brick faced with ashlar with a slate roof. The history dating back to the 11th century, though there is evidence areas of forest, Great Park and Brimslade Park. The old bailiwick stables are sited around an open courtyard accessed from a from the Domesday survey that it existed prior to that. It was of La Verme in between the two was left unenclosed and known central arched opening. in the ownership of the Seymour family from the late medieval as the forest unpaled. period until it passed by marriage in 1676 to the Bruce family. The current condition of the stables is too dangerous to permit Absolute ownership of the Savernake Forest from the crown In a survey of 1621, the park at Tottenham amounted to 760 proper investigation. However, a detailed report of 2004 which meant that old forest laws used to curb poaching, acres of which about one third was wooded. It is likely then concludes that although built to Cundy’s plan, the three- and including poaching by gentry neighbours, were no longer that the Great Walk and the avenues, together with some of the

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plantations and gardens and the Home Farm shown on Charles LATER EIGHTEENTH CENTURY His successor appears to have made few if any alterations to Price’s plan of 1716 probably dates from the earlier 17th century. The rigidity of the 17th century landscaped garden declined in the park, other than demolishing Burlington’s Banqueting House popularity during the 18th century to be replaced by a more and replacing it with a reservoir. He also built a new home farm, The woods were certainly not newly planted then as there naturalistic landscape. Warren Farm 1.5 km from the mansion in around 1820. are records of the sorry state of the park when Charles Bruce reached his majority in 1703 and set about restoring the Estate. The second half of the 18th century certainly saw the rigid The remodelling of the mansion by Thomas Cundy the Younger His immediate predecessors found the financial burden of the formality of the earlier landscape softened, probably as a result from 1826 involved redesign of the pleasure grounds with a new deer park so great that they disparked a large area. They did not of Lancelot Brown’s involvement and the family connection with parterre to the south (remodelled in 1850). A new path system undertake any extensive planting. Henry Hoare, creator of the landscaped park at Stourhead. It is around the formal gardens was introduced between 1850 - 1870 possible that Hoare was involved in giving advice at Tottenham In 1860 the boundary between the park and the forest was Also shown on this plan are two partly walled areas of the and also bringing in Brown to advise. removed creating a substantial ‘forest park’ for the deer. This ‘Garden’ probably the kitchen garden, and ‘Degrees’ which may deer park lasted until after the Second World War when the deer have been pleasure grounds. The ‘Farm-house yard’, which was The pleasure grounds were remodelled and a new kitchen were moved to an enclosure near the mansion. the Home Farm was nearby to the north. garden constructed as the position of the old one, quite visible on the garden front, was considered by Brown to be a bar to POST 1880, AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR John Aubrey, visiting the Seymours at Tottenham Lodge in 1672 any improvement. Serpentine rides and informal clumps of trees When the mansion was used by Hawtreys Preparatory School, described it as being set in ‘a most parkley ground and romancy were introduced into outlying areas of the Park, with perimeter alterations to the landscape were made to accommodate the pleasant place; several walkes of great length, of trees planted’. rides offering views over the surrounding countryside. The park needs of the school and included the rifle range, the swimming was also extended to the east into Stock Common and Bedwyn pool, a cricket ground and rugby and football facilities. EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LANDSCAPE Common. Lord Bruce’s work to restore the Estate included enlarging the KITCHEN GARDEN park, reinstating the deer park by removing the arable use of The old forecourt was removed, opening up the north and south An important component of 18th century reordering was the the land and improving and ornamenting the park and pleasure approaches to the house and improving views of the house in relocation of the kitchen garden, as the old one had been too grounds. An Estate map of c.1730 shows these improvements the landscape. Existing rides and garden features were retained. visible from the house. Brown was involved in the selection of the including the kitchen garden to the south of the house. Further An additional network of axial rides with symmetrical platoons of site and it was built in 1767-68. It extended to nearly five acres tree planting took place to create blocks of woodland and some trees were added, probably under the direction of Charles Bill. and was divided into two main compartments. of the formal 17th century avenues and drives were retained and This included the creation of Eight Walks near the centre of the extended and new axial rides created. The visual impact of the forest at a point where Grand Avenue (then called Marlborough The compartment nearest the stables had a path around three alterations is illustrated in a bird’s-eye painting of the Estate by Walk) and Great Lodge Drive intersect. The latter, aligned sides and a circular pond. On one section of the south-east Rysbrack from around 1740. approximately east-west connects two ancient forest lodges but facing dividing wall there were lean-to hot houses. The second was not in existence until the 1770s. Other rides radiate from compartment had a perimeter path and was divided into several Three new buildings were sited within the park by Lord Burlington Eight Walks along the points of the compass. Saddle Ride was rectangular enclosures. The hothouses were built after 1771 and as part of his design for an idealised arcadia. A classical created on an exact alignment with the main front of the house. Lord Bruce had consulted his father-in-law’s gardener about the banqueting house at the end of the Great Walk terminated this This joins Grand Avenue at a barely perceptible acute angle best method of building and the most suitable dimensions. long view from the house. From here there were walks or rides in shortly before Eight Walks, thereby creating a long view of the Fruit trees were planted on the outside wall in The Slips on the several directions leading on to other designed features including house on the approach. (though this view, because of ownership east side, screened from the pleasure garden by deep planting. the Octagonal Pavilion, a summer house built in 1743 in a circular changes and lack of tree management is no longer possible Home Farm and its associated farm buildings were demolished lawn and ‘King Harry’s summerhouse’, at the end of King Harry’s around 1820 (the farmstead relocated to Warren Farm) and a walk, since lost. NINETEENTH CENTURY LANDSCAPE steward’s cottage built in its place. A new entrance was formed Lord Bruce’s completed alterations to Tottenham Park and in the north west section of the walled garden, with further Savernake Forest are shown in a map of the Estate of 1830. glasshouses added in this area.

15 Tottenham House & Estate HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AND PARK VOLUME 1

MENAGERIE The Menagerie Garden had been created in an enclosure abutting the kitchen garden to the north-east. Although on the 1786 map in Figure 10 this area was shown as an orchard, On the late eighteenth century maps, it is clearly marked ‘Menagerie’ and included two buildings. In the late eighteenth century menageries were popular features but were frequently used for housing exotic birds rather than a range of animals. Peacocks were popular birds for menageries and a view of the garden front of Tottenham House published in 1823 shows a group of peacocks strutting across the lawns (see Appendix 2).

The menagerie garden became an ‘American ground’ where Burn made his first experiments in such plantings, probably in the early 1820s. In 1854 it was described as containing fine specimens of all the leading kinds of magnolias, many of which have attained the size of large trees, and are yearly covered in bloom; besides which are all the older kinds of rhododendrons, azaleas, vacciniums, andromedas, and various other plants that were rarities when this garden was made, many of which have now assumed the form of trees.

The 1880 25 inch Ordnance Survey map shows this area to have been laid out with a perimeter path and a central path with a circular pond, giving access to the shrub borders. The original line of Brown’s sunk fence was altered to encompass a larger area leading into this garden and make it part of the pleasure grounds, probably after 1874.

Figure 11 - Tottenham House 1814 Map. Source Wiltshire Records Office REF:1300/375L Figure 12 - Kitchen Garden 1830 plan. Source Wiltshire Records Office REF:1300/373

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KEY PHASES OF CHANGE 11th century - Savernake Forest known to have existed

12th century - Forest divided into five bailiwicks (100 square miles total area)

1330 - Deafforestation

1548 - Reafforestation under absolute ownership of Edward Seymour. Tottenham Park formed out of the bailiwick of La Verme

1575 - Earl of Hertford rebuilds Tottenham lodge to replace Wolfhall

1672 - Tottenham Lodge improved/rebuilt (following fire). Park covered 760 acres

1685 - Tottenham House disparked, 400 acres converted to agricultural land

1721 - Further damage to Tottenham House and part rebuilt

1730s - New House built and garden pavilions. Tottenham Coppice, Limekiln Wood and Haw Wood fenced and replanted.

1746 - Disparked fields reclaimed to parkland. Park boundaries extended

1763 - Capability Brown engaged to advice on further Park improvements

1786 - 16,037 trees planted

1787 - 30,000 trees planted

1795 - Forest turned from predominantly pastoral to wooded area

1820 - Tottenham House remodelled, new pleasure gardens, new deer fence erected around what is the current forest area 16 miles long). Little new planting.

1870 - Land to the north and east of the house returned to agriculture

1900 - Replanting of Forest

1939 - Lease of Forest to Forestry Commission

1946 - New deer park, areas of the Park ploughed up (including East Park and areas of the Park to the south east of St Katharine’s Church)

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7.00 TOTTENHAM HOUSE & LANCELOT country to improve the grounds at his Estate, Henry Hoare wrote, BROWN’S DESIGNS FOR TOTTENHAM PARK BROWN ‘I am glad Your Lordship has got Mṛ Browne, he has undoubtedly The re-landscaping of the Estate and Park around Tottenham the best taste of anybody for improving Nature by what I have House features several hallmarks of Brown’s style from this Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-1783) has been called the seen of His Works, He paints as He plants; I doubt not that He period. Brown’s style was derived from two practical principles: classic English landscape gardener: ‘classic in the sense that so will remove Damps & the too great regularity of Your Garden’. comfort and elegance. He was known for his determination much eighteenth century design is epitomised by him, classic Brown first visited Tottenham House in 1764, the same year that that everything on an Estate should work together and adhere too in the sense that […] every landscape gardener since has he was appointed Master Gardener at Hampton Court. to a sense of visual cohesion. He regularly employed a Ha-Ha to been influenced in one way or another by him’. John Phibbs has The extent to which key changes to the landscape design at trick the eye into believing that different parts of parkland were argued that the landscape designs he created, ‘are as deeply Tottenham Park and the Savernake Forest conducted in the late actually one. He was known for building pleasure grounds with embedded in the English character as the paintings of Turner and 18th century were the work of Brown, or if they were instead numerous different kinds of planting. He was also influenced the poetry of Wordsworth’. conducted by Charles Bill, chief steward for Lord Bruce, has by the tradition of ferme ornée, creating elaborate ornamental been debated by others. Brown was known to have various walks around working fields. He often introduced serpentine ‘CAPABILITY’ BROWN different levels of engagement, depending on the needs of the walks or lakes to large parks, disliking straight avenues or circular Brown, born at Kirkharle in Northumberland, started his career Estate or park in question. In some parks, he would leave one of ponds. He regularly planted large numbers of indigenous trees as a gardener at age 16 when he was employed by Sir William the twenty foreman he kept on his books to oversee the day-to- (beech, oak, elm) in clumps, scatters or at the perimeter edge Loraine of Kirkhale. He left Northumberland in 1739, and his first day management of the project. It seems at Tottenham House of properties. Part of Brown’s style was to remove unwanted design was a lake at Kiddington Park in Oxfordshire. In 1741, he that Charles Bill filled some of this role, overseeing some planting buildings in a view. If areas were designed to form a part of moved to Stowe to serve as head gardener and Clerk of Works operations and projects under the direction and instruction the park and part of a viewing experience, then Brown (and for Lord Cobham. While working for Cobham, he came into of Brown. Because Brown worked on so many projects others) would have ‘swept away’ buildings that interfered with contact with William Kent, ‘the first great exponent of English concurrently, he would simply make annual or semi-annual visits that view, as happened with the walled garden, kennels and the landscape gardening’, in collaboration with whom he ‘naturalised’ to check on the progress of works. Home Farm. Buildings that were not part of any curated viewing Stowe’s formal layout of what was already one of the most experience remained. celebrated English parks. This appears to be his manner of working at Tottenham Park. He was known for the speed at which he could assess the Some of Brown’s hallmarks (but not all of them, such as a lake) Upon the death of his employer in 1749, Brown became a ‘capability’ of a site. One of his clients remarked in wonder, were introduced in the re-landscaped Tottenham Park, during his consulting landscape gardener. Over the course of the next 30 ‘after a half hour on horseback he conceived the design of the involvement between 1763 and 1773. One of the first features years he was called upon for his services in every part of the entire park… after that, half-a-day was enough for him to mark that Brown advised on, in 1764, was the serpentine walk leading country. At the time of Brown’s death in 1783, ‘his characteristic it out on the ground’. Bill’s own letters attest to the speed at to Bedwyn Common. At the same time, he proposed extensive landscapes with their serpentine lakes and scattered clumps of which Brown worked, mounting horseback to survey the grounds changes to improve drainage on the park by sloping lawns and trees had become one of the most familiar features of the English quickly, all the while making observations about changes needed grounds to ensure that water did not collect in unsightly pools. countryside’. Significantly, it was in Brown’s hands that the to plantations and clumps of trees, and stopping to pay careful He proposed a new system of irrigation pipes and changes to the country house, ‘which before had dominated the Estate, became attention to the views of the grounds and house. Brown would then existing canals to ensure that the water flowed efficiently, an integral part of a carefully composed landscape intended leave lists of instructions and advice with Bill, who would then and that the canal was hidden from view by a system of ditches to be seen through the eye of a painter’. But even by the time follow up with additional questions and queries as the project and mounds. He also advised on the construction of a Ha-Ha of his death there was a reaction setting in with the rise of the developed. ‘20 to 30 yards from the North bastion of the House’ to improve Picturesque and a burgeoning interest in plants. views of the park from the house. His concern for comfort and However, Lennon has shown by widespread tree dating in the elegance was evident in his initial advice for the gardens and BROWN AT TOTTENHAM HOUSE Forest that the trees of some of the avenues were planted at the trees near the house. He tried to create the perfect balance Brown was first approached to advise on the landscaping of same time that Brown was urging Lord Bruce, through Bill, to cut of trees to allow clear views as well as a ‘shady ride’ to create the park and grounds at Tottenham House by Lord Thomas out and plant natural-looking rides. How much Brown approved a pleasant interplay between light and shade, a configuration Brudenell-Bruce in 1763. Upon hearing the news that Lord Bruce of these layouts is unknown. that could be cool in summer and provide warmth in winter. His had commissioned the foremost landscape gardener in the concern for a naturalistic landscape also meant some household

18 Tottenham House & Estate HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AND PARK VOLUME 1

and servants buildings would be hidden from view. As Lord HENRY BURN walk, but arboricultural survey suggests that up to 7 per 1750 Bruce made plans to extend the parkland, Brown advised on Henry Burn was the Head Gardener at Tottenham Park in the trees survive.. Adjusted path and fence lines and Victorian the ways that this extension would impact views to and from the early 19th century, appointed about 1815. He planted American Planting have removed views of it from the Great Walk, as well as house. varieties ofplants and hybrids of rhododendrons and azaleas, and the junction in between. planted up the Parterre to the south of the Conservatory.The In 1767, Lord Bruce made plans to enclose lands adjacent to design may have been the work of Cundy, but was disliked by Western Ride: Octagon pavilion to King Harry’s Walk: first shown Tottenham Park, including large sections of Bedwyn and Durley Loudon. The gardens were then remodelled and significantly on the pre-1746 Estate Plan, aligning former Cockroad Gate Commons, restricting commoner’s rights access to local farmers reduced about 1850. (1716 plan). The path of the ride is either cut or banked but with who relied upon the land to graze their stocks and converting vegetation encroachment. the land into ‘two Great Clumps’. Brown generally refrained from SUMMARY OF THE PARK & GARDENS KEY FEATURES fencing enclosed land on other sites, as he preferred to avoid Below is a brief summary of the main features of the Park. London Walk: Identified in the Rysbrack painting London walk features that created boundaries or interfered with the extent of Further details of these features and their condition are provided runs north east from the house, continues into the Park and the landscape. However, in this instance, Charles Bill and Lord in the Building Condition Surveys (Adam Architecture) and through Bedwyn Common, with pond features (canal) close to Bruce anticipated local anger about the decision to enclose the Dilapidation Reports (Balston Agius) and, respectively, the and on axis with the house. land. Bill wrote, ‘a few years hence it will be look’d upon as a Design and Access Statement and Landscape Design Statement. great Grievance after they [local farmers] have had the enjoyment Eight Walks: Also known as Luden’s Lye it is first shown on the of the whole Common’. As a result, Brown and Bill proposed the RIDES AND AVENUES 1786 plan. Five of the eight platoons encircling the crossing erection of a pale around the enclosed lands, with plans put in Column Ride: An approach to the house first marked on the survive. Ancient oaks (300 – 500 years old) survive. Increased place for the construction of plantations and lodges to be placed Estate plan c.1746, marked in the Rysbrack painting by a single tree cover has reduced the visual impact of the walks such inside the pales. line of trees. By 1773 the ride is marked by platoons. The ride that they now appear as a series of woodland rides. Eight was extended in 1781 with the erection of the column. The Walks lies outside the current ownership of Tottenham House Evidence of Brown’s involvement ceases in 1773 though it can boundary of the park on either side of the ride was extended at EstateTottenham Ridge. The earliest avenue along the ridge be assumed work in developing the Park continued under the least 4 times between 1716 and 1880. Only a part of the length formed part of the circuit around Lady Lawn (1716 plan), direction of Charles Bill, who evidence suggests was intent on of the Ride lies within the current ownership of Tottenham House extended around Langfield Coppice by 1746. Both circuits have planting ‘old fashioned’ avenues. It is clear that Brown’s input Estate. disappeared and the few remaining trees are in poor condition. was a collaborative process and that during the next major phase Only 1 pre-1750 tree survives and this appears to be off the line of change under the stewardship of Charles Brudenell Bruce and Saddle Ride: Saddle Ride ran north west of the house for about of the avenue. his successors during the 19th century that the Park underwent 2 km terminating at a monument in the Forest. further change and re-invention. LAWNS AND GARDENS Grand Avenue: Grand Avenue runs on a slightly diverging route Lady Lawn: Lady Lawn separates Langfield and Tottenham INFLUENCE OF CHARLES BILL from Saddle Ride. Only a part of the length of the Avenue, up Coppices. Historically the field ran further north-east, enclosed Charles Bill worked at Cornbury Park and Amesbury prior to to the gated access on Savernake Road lies within the current by the Avenue touching the Old Walled Garden and the avenue becoming Steward at Tottenham House. He had experience with ownership of Tottenham House Estate. The Avenue continues along the ridge. Encroaching farmland has foreshortened the Evelyn’s layout at Cornbury and Bridgeman’s at Amesbury with through Savernake Forest to its junction with the A4 London boundary. long avenues reaching out over the landscape and platoons at Road. Cornbury. Lennon’s dating of trees shows that the planting of the Pleasure Grounds and formal gardens: These are situated on avenues at Tottenham House coincide exactly with the period of Great Walk: A continuous view from the house to the reservoir, south west, north east and south east of the house, separated Brown’s advice. It appears that Bill was riding two horses – that the site of the earlier Banqueting House, with a route that in parts from the park by a ha ha. To the north east, alongside of the unfashionable avenues and platoons of the seventeenth historically, probably, continued on to Wolf Hall. London Walk are mature shrubs and trees and a serpentine century and that of the sophisticated deformalizing sweeps and walk. To the south east is the Exedra Lawn affording views groups of Brown. King Harry’s Walk: Few 18th century trees remain along the over East Park. Introduced by Lord Burlington the lawn would

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originally have allowed views over the walled gardens laid out to the south east of the house. In front of the conservatory and orangery is a formal garden terrace (extended and reworked in the 19th century) with fountain enclosed by a stone balustrade, with a sunken lawn beyond and views up the Great Walk to the site of the Banqueting House.

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES Octagon Pavilion: The only surviving garden building, the Banqueting House and King Harry’s summer house having been demolished, it occupies a high point that offers views out in all directions. The avenue linking it with the Great Walk was cut and levelled to gives lines of view. Few of the trees that lined the view survive. Possibly 6 pre-1750 trees associated with avenues linking to the Great Walk could survive.

Savernake Lodge: Shown as an open area within the forest on 1786 plan. The line of the Roman Road passes through the site. The Lodge lies outside the current ownership of Tottenham House Estate.

Stables: The Stable Block, designed by Thomas Cundy senior was completed in 1818, before the house was remodelled. Two storey ranges enclose a central courtyard with a clock tower and belfry facing towards Home Park and visible from certain points along Column Ride. Located adjacent the walled garden with a range of kennels/pigsties in between.

Walled Garden and Slips: Relocated on Brown’s advice from a location to the south east of the house. The trapezium shaped garden is enclosed by a high brick wall and divided into two compartments totalling around 2 ha.in area. Within the walled garden were a range of glass houses and potting sheds now completely dilapidated or demolished. To the west of the garden were further ranges of buildings, including the gardener’s cottage and a circular fishpond.

Historic map overlay. Charles Bill and Lancelot Brown (Balston Agius 2017)

20 Tottenham House & Estate HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AND PARK VOLUME 1

8.00 MAP REGRESSION

To understand the historic changes made to the House, Park and Forest, and the historic development of these heritage assets, this section provides a record of the key historic maps and plans of the site in order to provide context for the detailed history of change and development described in the previous sections of this volume.

More comprehensive illustrative material plotting the history of the house and the landscape is contained within Appendix 2 and 5 of Volume 5 of this report - llustrative Historical Development and Analysis at Tottenham House & Estate (Adam Architecture), Illustrative Historic Analysis of the Landscape at Tottenham House & Estate (Balston Agius).

9.00 HERITAGE ASSETS

WITHIN THE SITE The following are designated heritage assets on the Historic England National Heritage List for England:

• Tottenham House and Savernake Forest, registered park and garden Grade II*

• Tottenham House, listed building Grade I

• Stable block to Tottenham House, listed building Grade II*

• Garden folly in Tottenham House deer park, listed building Grade II*

• Romano-British kilns 150 yds SSW of Tottenham House, scheduled monument

Full descriptions in the National Heritage List for England entry are included in Appendix 3.

Figure 14 - 1786 Estate Map ( Source: WRO1300/360H) showing Tottenham Park and Savernake Forest. Tottenham House is towards the bottom of the map.

21 Tottenham House & Estate HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AND PARK VOLUME 1

The following may be considered non-designated heritage assets:

• The Winchester to Mildenhall Roman road

• The below ground enclosure in the south corner of the site dating from the Bronze Age

WITHIN THE SETTING The following may be considered to be within the setting of the site and are designated on the Historic England National Heritage List for England:

• Ailesbury Column and enclosure, listed Grade II

• Gate piers at the northern end of the Grand Avenue, listed Grade II

• Warren Farm complex, listed Grade II

• Church of St Katharine Church, listed Grade II*

• St Katharine’s Lodge, listed Grade II

There are a number of archaeological features which find themselves near to the site but which are not related in any way to the historic park. They originated in very different landscape and environmental conditions The Archaeological Assessment (CgMs) discusses the significance of the archaeological resource.

Note: A gazetteer in Volume 2 of this heritage report discusses the buildings and structures on the site which though not identified in the statutory register of listed buildings hold some architectural or historic interest.

Figure 15 - Estate Map 1814. Source Wiltshire Records Office 1300/375/L showing the extent of landownership and the use - park, forest/woodland and agricultural

22 Tottenham House & Estate HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AND PARK VOLUME 1

Figure 16 - Estate Map 1830s. Source Wiltshire Records Office 1300/373L. This is a more detailed plan showing the House, only partly rebuilt and its more immediate grounds, with the Old Stables, Walled Garden and Gardeners Cottage to the north-west.