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National Trust a |b |c BULLETIN rts uildings ollections summer issue 2015 THE TRAGEDY AT CLANDON A personal recollection of the fire and its aftermath wrote this article just weeks after the devastating fire that tore through I Clandon Park on 29 April. Like so many, I arrived to help on that night. Now, unexpectedly, I find myself still here, helping to plan the salvage operation. It was a grim experience for so many of us to have to stand by and watch the destruc- tion of Clandon Park, at once a home, an architectural masterpiece, a repository of so many remarkable artefacts, and an extraordinary workplace. The rapaciousness of fire, its ability to consume so quickly and so completely the artistry and craft skills of centuries, is millar / john images nt terrifying, mesmerising and astounding. My memories of that night are of con- trasting noises: not just of the fire itself of the night, began their chorus. These were joyous moments amid the and the breaking glass and falling who Having raged for more than twelve horror, and their discovery has sustained knows what, but more surprisingly the din hours, the fire was largely out by mid- my optimism through all our subsequent of engines, pumps and hoses, generators, day. A close inspection of the house with challenges. I once cursed the heavy-handed voices, and the inevitable mobile phones. the Surrey Fire and Rescue Commander dry-rot treatment of our predecessors, but With no electricity, by nightfall the entire revealed some remarkable things. I walked now find myself thankful that the wooden site was plunged into darkness save for the through an untouched front door towards lintels had been replaced with concrete: reds, oranges and yellows of the flames the smoking mass of charred timbers continued on page glowing inside the house, emanating from fallen like giant spillikins that was once the the rooftop, and sometimes licking the Marble Hall; there I saw the superb carved stone and brick walls. On the west side the marble overmantels by John Michael INSIDE air was cold and dewy; on the east it was Rysbrack untouched. Likewise astonish- filled with smoke and ash, which became ing was my first tantalising glimpse of the 3 The Peckovers and R.E. Hart ingrained in our hair and our clothes and Onslow State Bed, surviving against all 5 Uncloaking Dudmaston’s Garden by morning had laid a film of filth over our odds in the State Bedroom where the heat 7 Acquisitions cars. The birds, untroubled by the events had devoured the paper from the walls. 8 Allegory of Folly at Paycocke’s House 10 The conservation of Penrhyn SILVER CASTER FOR Castle’s Merryweather fire pump DUNHAM MASSEY 11 The National Trust’s Historic Houses and Collections Annual 2015 A silver caster, with the mark of Daniel Piers, London, 1746, was purchased at auction at Christie’s, King Street, 12 Protecting hearth and home at London, on 3 June 2015 (lot 636), for £4,375 including Avebury Manor buyer’s premium. 14 The Geological Gallery at Biddulph The caster is engraved with the arms of Grey 16 Building Bridges at Croome Park impaling Booth, for Henry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford 18 Friends and Rivals: Lord Berners (1715-1768), and his wife Lady Mary (1704-1772), the and Harold Nicolson daughter of George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (1675-1758). Inv. no. NT2900123 arts|buildings|collections bulletin Summer 2015 2 thanks to this, the second- solid. A 3-D laser survey of floor windows and the para- the house has been com- pet above remained intact missioned, using drone, instead of being consumed, time-lapse and other record arguably saving the house photography. We are plan- from further destruction. ning the removal of roofing That no one was killed, lead, precarious timbers, that the Speakers’ Parlour bricks, windows, collapsed remains largely intact, and steels, and the grotesque that so many wonderful layer of metal spaghetti items from the collection to enable internal access, were rescued are thanks to which started towards the the dedication of Surrey end of June. The sampling Fire and Rescue Service sup- lacey / chris images nt of ash is being arranged. We ported by a salvage plan, and have engaged a specialist to National Trust staff and The building two weeks after the fire scaffolder to design self- volunteers. Since then the supporting scaffolding to response of colleagues from other heritage organisations has been wrap and roof this 45m x 24m four-storey house; this job will take generous and much appreciated, with many offers of advice, help approximately ten weeks. We are writing methodologies to inform and practical assistance coming from across the UK and much both the careful removal of the debris and the search for artefacts further afield. and the subsequent cleaning, assessment and treatment of the Readers will no doubt want to know how the fire started, how longed-for discoveries. We need to plan where, on this seven-acre much of the collection has been saved, and what will happen to site, we can accommodate offices, staff welfare, and storage, both Clandon Park in the future. The short answer is that we do not for salvaged historical plaster and collection objects, and also for know why or how the fire began. Once safe and clear access in- tools and equipment. This became more of a challenge once the side the house is established, fire investigators will carry out their excellent team at Historic England had carried out a geophysical specialist work and make survey of the east lawn: this revealed (to our great satisfaction) a report as soon as they are that the garden laid out by Richard, 1st Lord Onslow (1654-1717) able. As for the Onslow lies just beneath the lawn. And, of course, we are not forgetting and Gubbay collections, electricity, water, Wi-Fi, and waste management, including more than 350 items were recycling where possible. All this and much more has been removed from the house researched, discussed, and recorded using Gantt charts (bar charts on the day of the fire, in- for illustrating project schedules) and numerous spreadsheets, and cluding paintings, clocks, porcelain, silver, books and furniture. Another 50 or so items were re- covered, mostly from the Speakers’ Parlour, on two subsequent occasions; these included its huge carpet, the curtains, and a large carved and gilded nt images / chris lacey / chris images nt picture frame. As for the The North Doors, untouched with a future, it is still too early mixture of waste, hose, and collapsed ceiling to know what that will be in the long term. Our immediate priorities are protecting the building against decay, securing internal structures, and preparing the site so that major archaeological salvage work can begin. The temporary caravan In the meantime, this has been a period of intense activity for everyone at Clandon Park, and it has involved all areas of the then discussed again with our insurers and their loss adjustors. National Trust. This includes the safeguarding of the salvaged Some of us have become accustomed to the stark bare-brick collection by transferring it to a secure store - here objects can appearance of this new Clandon. But this is just a passing phase. be assessed and treatment proposed if necessary. We are working We know that decay is inevitable if it is not stopped, and its early with structural engineers to assess the stability of the house; its signs are here already: the faint green tinge of nature showing on Venetian architect Giacomo Leoni (c.1686-1746) designed it with internal walls, the roosting of birds, and the sighting of a rat. a generous specification (four bricks thick at basement level and Sophie Chessum, Curator and Salvage Lead only slimming to three at the second floor), which is reassuringly arts|buildings|collections bulletin Summer 2015 3 THE PECKOVERS AND R.E. HART Collectors, Philanthropists and Kindred Spirits ‘Catalogue of valuable printed books, the Penrose family, to whom she was illuminated and other manuscripts. great-aunt, and who instructed nearly all Autograph letters and historical docu- the Sotheby’s sales of the Peckover book ments from the celebrated collection of collection. the late Lord Peckover of Wisbech.’ The Peckover Psalter realised £3,500 at the sale in 1927, a figure equivalent This is the title of the seven Sotheby’s sale to around £200,000 today. This was the catalogues dating between 1927 and 1951, highest value for a book in the sale, and and just a glance through them makes one reflects the deep pocket and good eye of appreciate how ‘celebrated’ the books and its purchaser, Edward Hart. It is interest- manuscripts ought to be. ing to note that the name alongside the Standing in the Library at Peckover annotated sale catalogue is not Hart, House, Cambridgeshire (formerly Bank but possibly Coutts (the writing is not House, renamed by the National Trust absolutely clear). Hart was known to be in 1948 in commemoration of the fam- surreptitious about his purchases, using ily) one used only to be able to imagine an agent to make a purchase, or a pseu- what an impressive sight these books donym at a sale. made when they were in their places on Although the Peckovers as a Quaker the bookshelves. Now, for the first time in family were prevented from going to eighty years, visitors can see some of these university and entering certain profes- books, and representative pieces from the The Blackburn Psalter sions, they made great strides in trades collection, back in their original home as part of a loan from the such as shop keeping, farming, manufacturing and in particular R.E.