Burderop Park.

Transcription

1 Burderop Park Welcome to City & Country s Public Consultation about its proposals to restore Burderop Park which lies on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site includes modern office buildings and a Grade II* listed Manor house, alongside numerous Grade II listed outbuildings and structures. Following our purchase of the site in April 2015, we are working towards a vision for redevelopment which will seek to enhance the site s special historic character and setting and provide a new beginning that will secure this nationally important heritage asset for future generations. Part of the Burderop Park Estate remains in office use, on lease back to CH2M Hill who are the former owners of the site and have an intention to re-locate their operations. No decision has been made as to when re-location will occur. However, City & Country wish to have a new future agreed for the site, in order that the heritage assets are secured for future generations. We are at the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with Swindon Borough Council, Historic England and important local stakeholders and community groups. This Public Consultation is taking place to provide the local community with an opportunity to feed in to the design process at an early stage. Members of our team are on hand to answer your questions and feedback forms are available for you to share your comments with us.

2 Site Context Burderop Park is located 5 miles south of Swindon, within the Parish of Chiseldon. The hamlets of Hodson and Overtown lie just 1 mile from the site, whilst within 2 miles the villages of Chiseldon lie to the south east and Wroughton to the north west. The site is bound by Brimble Hill and the B4005 to the west and south, enclosed by woodland to the north and the M4 beyond. The site is subject to a total of seven statutory listings including the Grade II* Manor House, which was designated in 1955, whilst the Tudor Wing; North Wing; walls and gate to the Kitchen Garden; Granary; Cottage and Stables; and Stable Block are all Grade II listed. The Gatekeeper s Lodge and three remaining outbuildings are all curtilage listed. The modern office buildings, known as the North, South and West Pavilions, are not listed. City & Country s land ownership extends to approximately 30 acres and includes the formal gardens that border the manor house, the walled Kitchen Garden and extensive areas of car parking. To the south-western corner of the site is a large area of grassed recreation space, which is designated within the Swindon Borough Local Plan 2026 as Open Space. The location is easily accessible with the site located on a bus route, with bus stops positioned at the Brimble Hill entrance. Stagecoach routes 9A, 9B, 71 and 72A currently serve the site providing a good Monday-Saturday service linking the site via public transport to Swindon and the surrounding villages. From Swindon there are direct trains connecting to London, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham and Southampton. The M4 can be accessed within 3 miles, also giving access to the national motorway network.

3 History The earliest record of Burderop dates from 1219 when it existed as Burithorp in the west of the parish of Chiseldon. Between 1305 and 1355 land belonging to the Cardeville family including the land that is now Burderop was given to Hyde Abbey and became known as Burderop manor. The Abbot dissolved his estates to the King in 1538 and in 1540 Burderop manor and Monkebaron grange were granted with Chiseldon to Sir John Bridges, which on his death passed to Sir Edmund Bridges. Thomas (II) Stephens of Burderop purchased Burderop in The main farmhouse became a manor house soon after this transfer, with the grange remaining as a farmhouse. Between 1596 and 1611 the estate was inherited through the Stephens family. Queen Elizabeth I stayed at Burderop in 1592 on the way from Ramsbury to Down Ampney. The bed she is meant to have slept on, of carved and painted oak, is preserved in America. The manor house had a week-long makeover prior to the Queen s visit. South Elevation c Map East Elevation c1911 Cottage Tudor Wing & Mansion Stable Blocks On Sir William (I) Calley's death the Estate was inherited through the male line of the Calley family. As tradition, at times of marriage or inheritance, changes were made to property. At least three were recorded at Burderop, including by William (II) in , with the Tudor wing built as a service range and demolition of a gallery running across the top of the main stair. From 1664 there is no further mention of Monkebaron, the old farmhouse, so it is also assumed to have been demolished at this time. A new farmhouse (now referred to as the Cottage) was constructed, which remains to the west of the manor house forecourt. A major re-building of the manor house started in 1731 for William (IV). The manor house was made into a Palladian building, by regularising the elevations, raising the building by a whole storey and the addition of the two-storey porch to the west. The Granary, Walled Garden and North Wing were also constructed and a brew-house was built on the site of Monkebaron grange. The work was led by Architect Francis Smith of Warwick. The oldest surviving plan of 1773, shows the landscape gardens and lawn to the east of the House and the principal access route running south, with a second drive to the farm. Phasing Plan Late 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century Early-mid 20th Century Late 20th Century - Early 21st Century During the 19th Century the Calley s continued to host the landed gentry and their great friend King Edward VII, who visited on several occasions with his friends. The last male direct line of the Calley family, Thomas Charles Pleydell died in His wife died in 1954 and her daughter Joan Marion continued to live in the mansion until her death in The house was left to Sir Henry Calley, of Overtown Manor, a cousin. Halcrow, now CH2M Hill, bought the house and 30 acres from Henry Calley in The Mansion was in need of major renovation, alongside conversion of the existing buildings to offices, and a requirement for additional office space. Two Pavilions were constructed in 1977 and a third in The conversion of the Mansion included rebuilding of the principal staircase, repair of moulded plaster ceilings and oak panelling and rebuilding of the central glass dome. On removal of 18th Century oak panelling for repair, wall paintings were found in four of the first floor rooms, depicting landscapes with animals, foliage and buildings, divided by trompe l oeil columns. Integral to two were the coat of arms of William (I) Calley, evidence of their painting between 1619 and The wall-paintings on plaster were removed for restoration and storage in Detail of Queen Elizabeth I bed Queen Elizabeth I bed Relocated early 18th Century gate A 1619 lease refers to Monkebaron grange as the old farmhouse, with the main farmhouse known as the manor house. It mentions a new stable block belonging to the old farmhouse. This stable still exists, to the east side of the manor house forecourt. That same year Sir William Calley purchased Chiseldon and Burderop manors, unified as Burderop Estate, totalling 1,219 acres, with the accompanying purchase documents referring to a new manor house. William (I) Calley, made his fortune as an importer of silks and other cloths, gold and silver, cochineal and Seville oil. He subsequently obtained the contract to clothe the Spanish army in the Netherlands c.1607, and it is with the proceeds of this that the Estate was acquired. Landscape Development Plan Between horse race meetings were held at Burderop Down by Thomas Calley, who was then High Sheriff of Wiltshire. In 1821 Thomas Calley was brought to trial for debt, resulting in bankruptcy by The Burderop Estate was let to obtain funds and in 1845 parts of the Estate had been sold off. Burderop farm remained, listed as totalling 984 acres. 17th Century Wall Paintings Walled Garden Granary and North Wing 1773 Map William (I) Calley Coat of Arms Moulded plaster ceiling Internal doorway Principal staircase

4 Opportunity Burderop Park has undergone a number of changes and phases of development over the years. More recently this has involved conversion of the listed buildings for office use; construction of the pavilions and the associated provision of large areas of car parking within the grounds of the site. This opportunity provides us with the ability to greatly improve the setting of the listed buildings and landscape and to develop the site in a sensitive and appropriate manner that it so justly deserves. This could be achieved by considering the options of: Reducing the concentration of hardstanding Removal of the modern buildings Re-building in less sensitive locations, of a reduced scale and complimentary design Reintroduction of an optimal and viable use for the site Restoration of the parkland and gardens

5 Viability & Deliverability The National Planning Policy Framework recognises the importance of finding a deliverable and viable solution, and both local and national planning policy accepts that heritage projects cannot always meet the usual provisions for financial contributions and requirements such as affordable housing. Therefore, as part of the consultation process, where different options will be considered, we will carry out viability appraisals to ensure a sensible balance is maintained in order to deliver the high quality solution befitting these irreplaceable heritage assets. With heritage restoration projects there is always a delicate balance to be struck between the financial contributions that can be made, the quantity of new buildings a site can accommodate, and the impact on the heritage assets at the centre of the proposals. Therefore, before submitting the planning application for this site, a development appraisal will be issued to Swindon Borough Council, so they can review the viability and then balance this against our proposals and the impact on the historic buildings. Time is of the essence as historic buildings deteriorate rapidly if left empty; as they become prone to vandalism, theft and most catastrophic of all, fire. It is therefore important that all key stakeholders and the local community work together to find a viable and deliverable solution for Burderop Park, in order that a long term future can be secured for the site and its heritage assets.

6 Next Steps Thank you for taking the time to visit our Public Consultation. Your views are important to us and we would appreciate it if you could take the time to inform us of your vision, aspirations and any concerns you may have about securing the long term future of this exceptional heritage asset. Over the coming weeks we will review all of the completed forms we receive today, as we believe these to be very significant. We intend to host further Public Consultations, which will summarise the feedback that we have received and how we have responded. Finally, we are always interested in hearing about your memories of the site and particularly welcome any information or photographs you may have about its history. For further information and updates on the progress of our proposals, please visit our website.