Tag Archives: Kings Weston

Gems at Kings Weston

Leave a reply
Sir Robert Southwell when President of the Royal Society. 

The Bristol Records Society has recently published its 78th volume, one with some Kings Weston associations. The new publication, edited by Anthony Turner, catalogues the correspondence between William Cole, a gentleman and customs official in Bristol, and Sir Robert Southwell of Kings Weston and his son Edward. The letters exchanged between them largely relate to their mutual interest in natural history and associations with the Royal Society. Sir Robert was elected President of the Society in 1690, a position he was re-elected to five times.
 
There are few insights into Kings Weston, but a short series of letters are particularly fascinating. They describe the discovery of some crystals Cole had discovered on Sir Robert’s estate and presented them to him and his family as a gifts. The “topaz” stones were made up into five rings, one for Sir Robert and Edward, and the remaining three for each of his surviving daughters.  

It’s not clear where the stones were found on the estate, but crystals are not uncommon in the rocks of the Avon Gorge. Known since the Seventeenth Century as “Bristol Diamonds” they became popular as souvenirs. Dug out of iron ore veins, or found in nodules and geodes they were actually quartz crystals. The “topaz” Cole found are likely to be similar stones.

Both the main stone types within the Kings Weston parkland, limestone and Dolomitic Conglomerate, could have produced these gems. KWAG has come across them before now during excavations for steps, or mixed in topsoil, but none appear to have the same clarity encountered by Cole. What became of the Southwell’s rings is, sadly, unknown. 

Quartz crystals of a very flawed quality found during KWAG work in Penpole Woods. Perhaps the Kings Weston topaz stones were finer quality than these.  

The following excerpts are taken from the recent publication and give extra colour and depth to the story:    
 
William Cole to Edward Southwell, 5 May 1694
 
“Honoured & deare Sir
I have forborne to write to you since your last of the 27 March for that I was desirous in my next to make good my promise of sending you some of the Topaz stones of Kings Weston which I have att length and without much difficulty procured and now send you…
 
Now concerning the stones it may not be impertinent to give you a particular account that about 10 or 12 yeares since I procured many of them from Kings Weston and among them all there were not above 5 or 6 which were very good, and these I parted from to gratifie the earnest desires of some particular freinds not keeping anie for myselfe (being a stone I always fancied above others) presuming to have gotten more but never could till your last time being heere and when I had gotten severall hundred of them I caused the Jeweller to examine them and he pict out 22 of them (not finding any more that he thought good) which he carried with him to London to be cutt there but 12 of which found fitt to be cutt and returned the rest to me as defective, of which I chose out the 5 best and biggest to be set in Rings which are now sent by [….)
 
I did as well as I could by conjecture, direct the Jeweller in sizeing the ringes, 1st that for Sir Robert to be made a small size too big for me i.e. no 1. The next No 2 for yourselfe a size bigger then that supposing your finger to be somewhat bigger then your fathers, and N° 3 for Mm H[elena] & M E[lizabeth] neere of the same bignesse and N° 5 the least for M K[atherine]. I presumed the stones would have beene bigger, but he that cutt them assured me that when the topps of those which are crystalline the rough side & both are ground of The Topaz in the midle would be noe bigger soe as to be cleane and pure.
 
These 5 taken out of the aforesaid 12, the remaining 7 are not soe big nor indeed soe good as these. He further assured me that in grinding them he found them harder than the common Topazes, tho not as the Orientall hard Topazes which are neer in value to dyamonds, which are allsoe called yellow dyamonds. The foile under the stones is the common looking glasse foile. It hath been my designe some years past to procure some of theise stones to the end they may be worn not onely, rudely cut enough as they are, but as such found in S’ Roberts owne mannor. If these several tokens of gratitude find acceptance with the same [illegible interlined word replacing”

An example of Bristol Diamonds from the Gorge area, now in the M-Shed museum 



Sir Robert Southwell to William Cole, London 2 July 1694

“Wee lately had the effects of your favour in five Rings you told us indeed of Topazes of our own Growth but I little thought you would have improved them as you have done. But you have at the same time improved our value of Kings Weston. for we newe not before we were so rich.
Mr Woodward a great Judge of these things admires them very much, and hath obleiged me to furnish his collection with 2 or 3 Rust ones when I gett downe.”
 

William Cole to Edward Southwell, 23 aug 1694

“Besides these thinges I was requested by him in his letter & […] to imploy the stone digger to find some of the rough topaz stones for Mr Woodward which I proposed to doe this weeke, but before that spoken with him he came this morning to offer some other sorts of stones to me; and told me that he was yesterday att Kings Weston digging in Sir Robert’s land and forbidden by one of his servants. I examined him what answer he made him, and he told me that he said I had procured leave for him from Sir Robert but I never spake with him nor sent to him since I went into Wilts in May last. He offers to ingage not dig in any place to the damage of the Land and to suffer punishment if he doth not levell the holes where he shall dig for stones which he sayth lye neere the surface if your father think fitt that he shew the places where he supposeth to find them to one of his servants that he may be first satisfied that it may be don without damage to the land, he hath one large peec of a hollow rock of about half hundred within which are found good stones which I presume will be pleasing to Mr Woodward tho not of the right Topaz colour which if your father please to accept it I shall ingage the stone digger to present to your father being found in the same Mannour and to search for such as are of the true colour.”

the Kings Weston estate in about 1710. It’s not known where in the grounds the crystals were discovered. 


War Memorial’ photo’s reservoir reveal 

Leave a reply
The War Memorial after the inauguration crowds had receded on 4th September 1921. 

A new photo has come to us that will be of interest to many of you. The unveiling of Shirehampton’s War Memorial was held on Sunday 4th September 1921. Designed in the manner of a medieval wayside cross, it was given a dignified position at the top of Park Hill. The site at the corner of Shirehampton Road and Penpole Lane was once more prominent than it is today, and on the edge of the landscaped parkland nestled between long avenues of trees.

The land had been donated by Kings Weston’s owner, Philip Napier Miles, who also chaired the committee tasked with the memorial’s erection. It was his estate architect, Ernest Newton, who had been given the task of designing a fitting memorial to carry the 57 names of local men lost in the war.

The newly discovered photo records the scene of the unveiling from the Shirehampton Park side of the road, the cross surrounded by sun-bathed  spectators keen to mark their respects. Ropes that may have released some sort of curtain still hang from the crosshead. It’s also a tantalising glimpse of the timber building set up over the new reservoir built by the Bristol Water Co.


A bill was set before parliament in June 1920 to enable the company to build several new works, including a new reservoir to serve the growing Bristol suburbs of Shirehampton and Avonmouth. As originally planned, this was to be in a field west of the cricket club, but at some point the site changed to a spot on the north side of Penpole Lane. Sadly, this required part of the landscaped grounds to be compulsorily purchased for the deep tank and the incongruous-looking large sheds protecting the water from contamination. The Bill was passed in May 1921, so it looks as though work was quick to start, or had already begun before the new facility was photographed in September that year.  It’s not clear what Napier Miles thought of this intrusion into the landscape, but challenging a Government Bill would have been a financially challenging prospect.

The reservoir survives today, emptied, and converted as the Karakal works, albeit now with a steel shed covering. Strange as it seems, the reservoir is now over a century old!

The newly discovered view with the twin roofs of the newly-built reservoir seen beyond the crowds. The War Memorial stands proud in the centre. 

Keeping up appearances near the Echo

Leave a reply

It’s always lovely to meet new volunteers, and we welcome those who turned up last month to lend a hand with keeping on top of the cherry laurel regrowth close to the Echo. It’s been eleven years since we began cutting this invasive shrub away in this area. Thanks to the Council following-through with poisoning of the stumps the growth has been seriously retarded, but eleven years is still a long time to go without any re-cutting.

Looking downhill towards Kings Weston house, an area first cleared in 2014. 

Some areas had started to become quite overgrown with laurel, and there was a need for care in cutting them out. Dozens of saplings, planted by KWAG not long after we cleared, survive and have begun to thrive. It was important that none were accidentally lopped off in the process!

The target was to clear everything between the Echo and the two ponds. Most of this was achieved, but we fell slightly short for want of volunteers to help in the afternoon. Nevertheless, only small areas immediately around the pond remain to be done this month.

Looking up the slope with The Echo revealed in the distance after laurel clearance work. 

One unforeseen bonus of our work has been the revealing of some of the native bulbs planted in the area as part of one of our early big Bulb Plants. Groups of Snowdrops and native daffodils were discovered cowering under the cherry laurel and bramble, hopefully now more able to survive.

Another task performed on the day was the pushing back of the cherry laurel margins alongside the boundary wall and road. We’re keen not to lose all of these and expose walkers to the traffic, but there was a good deal to cut that had begun to grow back across the path again. Unfortunately, we have an incomplete set of before-and-after photos, but we’re returning this weekend, so we’ll provide more of an update next month. 

The view looking back towards the house looking down the pleasure walk leading behind the woods from the Echo. 

Big Bulb Plant 2024 – Bulbs at the Bridge

Leave a reply

In error, we ordered far more daffodil bulbs than we anticipated ahead of our annual Big Bulb Plant in October. Instead of 7000, volunteers who came along had the challenge of getting 9000 bulbs into the ground. Matters were exasperated too, by the quality of the ground around the historic Kings Weston iron bridge where we’d committed to plant. Earlier this year, with the support of the Save the Green Iron Bridge group and Janet Poole., donations were collected as part of the celebrations around the reopening of the bridge, and it seemed fit to decorate either side of the structure with these flowers. When it came to it, this was easier said than done.

Work begins on the east side of the bridge with plenty of family involvement. 

The event began at 10am and gradually volunteer numbers grew throughout the morning. Those tasked with digging holes for the bulbs immediately found the ground to be poor, filled, as it was, with rubble sat there from decades before. Both sides of the bridge were heavy going, large lumps of building stone, brick, tarmac and all manner of material dumped there for inexplicable reasons and buried beneath the turf. This considerably slowed progress throughout the day, particularly on the west side. We still don’t know where all this material came from, but it could have been demolition rubble from the WWII use of the estate or some well-meaning council plan to level the ground around the bridge.
 
By lunchtime, opportunities to plant on the eastern side were exhausted, and everyone moved over to support the beleaguered team on the west.   Aside from the challenge of the ground conditions, the day was perfect for the task, breaking out in sunshine by the end of the day, helpfully illuminating the slopes of Shirehampton Park as it sank towards the horizon. Fine tilth of soil left by digging bramble roots out sped progress as the afternoon progressed, and work was completed with the trimming of some self-seeded saplings that might overshadow the newly planted area.

A big gang of volunteers moves gradually  along the grass from the bridge. 
The western side of the iron bridge proved the biggest challenge to dig. 

We’re immensely grateful for everyone who came along throughout the day, no matter how long they were able to help for. We hope that the daffodils will now find their own path and root well in the troublesome ground before next spring and give us a fine display. Whilst we didn’t manage to get the full compliment in the ground, 6500 bulbs made it in. The surplus will form the basis of this month’s working party and go in along Shirehampton Road.  

Having a ball at Kings Weston

Leave a reply

Kings Weston has a habit of bringing people together, and when, by chance, we began talking to Peter Floyd, former head of the city design team at Bristol City Council, we realised he had close connections with the house. Peter has kindly written a reminiscence from 1970, a pivotal year for the mansion on becoming redundant for a second time since WWII, and, as it happened, his own life.   
Peter writes:

“I worked for Bristol City Council (BCC)Planning Department in 1970. As an architect/planner I was head of Design Section responsible for some architectural aspects of the  Planning, Engineering and Parks Departments. I was also a member of the Council of Bristol and Somerset Society of Architects (BSSA).
 
In the late 60’s public concern was growing about the risk of dereliction of both Ashton Court Mansion and also Kings Weston House. I had already organised a number of events for the BSSA and in 1970 chaired a group of members who decided to hold a Ball at BCC owned Ashton Court, to publicise its poor condition. Bristol City Council unexpectedly gave its permission and so we worked on the Ball organisation and design for 6 months, helped enthusiastically by artists Ann and Jerry Hicks. Our insurers then required assurance from BCC that the house was safe which was not forthcoming.  

Peter Floyd (left) and Charles Gregory carry in some of the artist-design decorations for the ball.


The state of the house was revealed to the public which was furious. BCC was astonished that anyone was interested – However, the Ball had lost its venue.”
 
 
With the Bristol Society of Architects turfed out of Ashton Court they urgently looked for alternative venues to host their Restoration Ball. It so happened that Kings Weston house was shortly to be vacated by Bath University and with an uncertain future, so the titular restoration might equally apply to Vanbrugh’s mansion. With the help of Professor Ken Panter Kings Weston was acquired for one night only.  Efforts were quickly refocussed on the new venue. The Evening Post reported on June 5th:   

 
“Guests at tonight’s masked ball at Kings Weston House will be greeted by a scene to suit just about every taste. Wildly abstract works art by students of architecture will be dotted among potted palms loaned by Bristol Corporation parks department. And musically the sounds will range from Avon Cities jazz to period music played by a consort of recorders on the magnificent staircase of the Vanbrugh mansion.
 
A team of helpers led by ball-committee chairman Mr Peter Floyd, and member of the City Planning Department, were scurrying about Kings Weston today getting everything ready for the 350 guests who are paying four guineas a head for the pleasure. Mr Martin Fisher has been up night after night with his team of electricians devising lighting effects which will be the star attraction. Fifty spotlights, 30 stage lights and some cube-shaped lanterns will be dotted around the house. And from the outside Kings Weston will be flood-lit, providing a spectacle for the drivers passing along the M5.Groups of helpers have devised different decorative schemes for the sitting-out rooms on the ground and first floor. One has been transformed into a leafy bower, filled with borrowed rhododendrons, ivy, and laburnum. Others have been draped in fabric to give a tent-like effect. Mr Floyd, organising the ball for the Bristol Society of Architects, tells me it’s been touch-and-go to prepare the mansion in the two months since the decision to cancel the Restoration Ball at Ashton Court.  “but we’ll be alright on the night,” he said.

Masks will be judged at midnight, soup and rolls will be served to those in need of sustenance at 1:30am, and Morris Dancers will be performing on the lawns during the evening.

Today’s coffee shop terrace seen in 1973, hinting at the plight of house and park at this time.

The ball more or less coincides with the departure from Kings Weston of the Bath University department of architecture. Professor Ken Panter said: I’m sad to leave, but it will be better for the students to move to Bath. We’ve been out on a limb here.”
 
The architects are hoping the ball will stimulate interest in the future of Kings Weston. There are awful fears that if nobody takes it over, it could, like Ashton Court, crumble once more into a state of decay.”
 

As it happened, the ball proved the catalyst for the house’s next evolution. Peter picks the story up again:   

 
“Martin Kenchington, Avon County Architect, was at the Ball. He knew that Avon Police were looking for a building, persuaded them to take it and was able to save the structure and replace the famous arcaded chimneys.
 
The Ball at Kings Weston was a success as well as prolonging the life of two important buildings.  As chairman, I was last man out and at 4am the next morning I proposed to my partner, who accepted – two buildings – and a wife!”

A pleasure in Ruins

Leave a reply

After the war, the declining condition of house and grounds at Kings Weston was the source of national concern. In fact, the architectural history of Bristol in particular was brought into sharp focus by wartime losses. The author Simon Harcourt-Smith clearly had a spirit inclined towards the romantic lure of the ruin, indeed, his own book “The last of Uptake” is an atmospheric story about the last days of a great mansion in decline, and its ultimate fall. Fortunately, unlike so many country houses, Kings Weston survived the decline many estates suffered in the three decades or so from the 1930s onwards, but only just.
 
Harcourt-Smith visited Bristol in October 1946 and wrote a lyrical piece for the high-society magazine The Tatler and Bystander  that included his great admiration for Kings Weston even in it’s war-worn state. It’s worth recounting here as a   

“How strange it is that Vanbrugh, who made his name as a writer of successful comedies, should have created an architecture which thrives in tragic circumstances. We can thank Providence that neither Blenheim nor Kimbolton nor Grimsthorpe have yet fallen into ruin. But ruin seems to be the proper mood of a Vanbrugh palace. I cannot believe Seaton Delavel was ever as moving in the days of its beautiful crazy owners as it is today, with the miners’ cottages creeping up the drive, and doves cooing among the Caesars in their alcoves, and a great purple cloud coming up out of the North Sea. I suspect that Castle Howard may have gained in drama from its fire; certainly Eastbury for Bubb Doddington now a mere fragment of a great house which should stir even a blind heart.”

A jolly sketch, but jolly inaccurate, accompanying Simon Harcourt-Smiths article. One that perhaps evokes rather than records the impression of army huts in the park. 

“And now King’s Weston turned into a school, then befouled by the military during the recent war: dormitories in the garden, an outer defilement of Nissen huts round the park, the servants’ quarters pulled down and littered on the terrace, the mantelpieces gone from the great saloons, temples chocked with old litter. Here is but a skeleton of grandeur; but for that very reason it makes one see as never before how great a genius Vanbrugh was. This is an idiom entirely personal and in heroic strains. Gaze at one of his slender, elongated arches. It is unlike anything else in our architecture. Wren may be a perfect artist, but one feels him to be the conventional man raised to the height of the angels. Vanbrugh’s art, never perfect, needs no elevation to the clouds. For it began there. . . . “

An Edwardian Slideshow

Leave a reply

A fascinating series of slides has recently come on the market showing Shirehampton in the early years of the 20th Century. Amongst this treasure-trove were a number of interest to Kings Weston and that we’ll detail here. Fortunately, each was recorded by the original owner with the date and location, without which their value might have been lost to posterity.
 
The first is something of an alternative angle on Shirehampton Park captured in 1904. Rather than the once-famous views over Horseshoe bend the picturesque scene is stolen by a young gentleman in a straw boater poised atop the trunk of an elderly oak tree. The broken fence and pile of branches in the foreground suggest it’s recently succumbed to age and the saw, the young man using the opportunity for a unique and novelty photograph. The dramatic view of Horseshoe Bend and Sea Mills is no longer easily obtained. The location has vanished, possibly impacted by the enlargement of the railway cutting below the view, but certainly lost when the Portway was driven through the estate.

The next three slides are all geographically clustered around what’s now Shirehampton Cricket Club ground, sandwiched between Shirehampton Road and Penpole Lane. Indeed, a “comic cricket match” is the subject of the first. Some research was needed in uncover what this involved and answers were provided from the Western Daily Press on 26th August 1904. It describes:

“ A fancy cricket match took place in Shirehampton Park on Wednesday between the members of the local club and the Tradesmens’ Association. The characters of the various players were unique and highly amusing, A procession started from the George inn, and went to Avonmouth accompanied by the Shirehampton brass band, and collections were taken en-route and in the field, the proceeds going to the Bristol Royal Infirmary. Besides the comic cricket match various old English sports were indulged in”.  

The slide is somewhat blurred, but the costume efforts of the players are on show, many seemingly sporting top hats. The view looks across the cricket pitch towards Shirehampton Road and the rush pool, though both are out of sight in the view.

The cricket ground appears to have hosted other sports, with it being described as an athletics ground on some later ordnance survey maps. A small shed on the far west of the field looks to have been a store for other club’s use and is the backdrop to a slide taken in 1906. This is titled Bristol Athletic Club, Easter, Shirehampton. Newspaper’s don’t record the meet, but one from June the same year describes the club at Shirehampton and hosting a series of events, mainly running races, but also tug-o-war. Sadly, none of the names from the Easter meet are recorded. One hopes that the gun brandished by one chap with a tobacco pipe is in fact a starting pistol!

Bounding the cricket pitch along Shirehampton Road was once the Rush Pool. A natural pond, it was an attractive local landmark once used by cattle and horses. Rather than its usual visitors we have here Jack the dog posing for the camera in 1905. Jack, identifiable from other slides in the series, looks quite unimpressed with situation he’s found himself in. Behind him Shirehampton Road winds through the park passing the site of today’s war memorial in the centre of the view. Beyond it, too distant to be made out clearly, would be Kings Weston house itself.  Today, this scene has changed entirely through road widening, infilling of the pond, and the growth of many trees.

Bristol Planners volunteer at the lilypond   

Leave a reply
KWAG brings volunteers up to speed on the tasks for the day.

The estate and KWAG was fortunate to host a team-building event by officers of Bristol City Council Development Management team on Wednesday 25th October. We’d managed to arrange with Kingsweston School for a group of 25 volunteers to access the area of the Georgian walled gardens around the lily pond on Napier Miles Road as the latest in our campaign to stem the tide of neglect and restore the much-loved and historic site.

The work overseen by KWAG focussed on the three strips of garden surrounding the pond, the removal of the dead box hedging, digging-up of brambles, and the felling of self-seeded saplings and shrubs. The formal box hedges succumbed last year to an onslaught of box moth caterpillar that ravaged Bristol. Here it left just a single bush alive, and that just barely. The brambles and saplings have taken advantage of the lack of maintenance since the school returned the pond area to Council Property department.

The south walk along the pond before and after the day’s events.

We were lucky enough to take advantage of the west lodge at the pond for bag storage as the team were briefed on the tasks for the day and health and safety. It was impressive, the way that the volunteers engaged with the work and threw themselves into it. Despite an unpromising weather forecast, the rain held off until the dying minutes of the event before 4pm and we even enjoyed some sun.

Tired Council volunteers pose at the end of the day outside the lodge.

We were lucky to have one of the city ecologists and tree officers as part of the team who were able to advise us on the work. The ecologist was particularly in demand when digging disturbed dozens of Common Newts and other amphibians settling down amongst the roots. These were relocated to safe areas around the pond.  

Huge inroads were made on clearance, massive progress in restoring the area. Whilst the job wasn’t completed in its entirely, the magnitude of the job was enormous and what was achieved was epic in scale. We are extremely grateful to all the Council officers who turned out for the event and made such an impact. Despite the wet finish everyone enjoyed the event and stuck with it until the very end. The space that’s been revealed is now a blank canvas to re-plan the gardens, and buys precious time for KWAG to plan a viable new future. Thanks too to Kingsweston School for hosting us, and parks and other departments of the Council for enabling the event.

Similar views of the west side of  the lilypond in 1898, and before and after recent volunteer work. The pond edge is again discernible and brambles threatening the lodge have been cut. 

…As a postscript, KWAG returned to make some investigations of the pond and have managed to clear some of the saplings alongside the road so visitors can glimpse progress on the garden areas beyond.

Some clearance at the lilypond has allowed us to find the waterline and judge the extent of the tree growth. 

Another Successful heritage open day

Leave a reply
the dining room  with crowds enjoying the day. (Photo, Bob Pitchford) 

This year’s September open day must rank amongst one of the best in recent years. With fine weather and a sense of occasion the day attracted just shy of 600 visitors between opening at 10am and half-four. Five busy tours were hosted by KWAG throughout the day taking visitors through each of the state rooms on the ground floor including the former Drawing Room where our usual exhibition was held. Noticeably, the sun encouraged may people to explore more of the estate, with a constant stream of people seen walking up the path to The Echo and back.

This year the exhibition was augmented by a new display cabinet where we were able to show some of the smaller artefacts we’ve not previously been able to. As with the last couple of years, we were selling the KWAG Christmas cards to help support our work around the estate. Perhaps because of the fine weather or new postal costs these weren’t as popular as previous occasions. However, the day attracted around £500 in cash and digital donations; this will help go towards offsetting the cost of the Big Bulb plant to be held this month.

The Drawing Room, now the Oak Room, hosts KWAG’s exhibition in the middle of a house tour. (Photo Bob Pitchford) 

As usual, huge thanks must go to KWAG volunteers who gifted their time staffing the event, greeting visitors, and manning the exhibition. Our thanks also go the team at Kings Weston house for hosting the event and allowing KWAG to play such a large part in showcasing it.

Inspired by Kings Weston

Leave a reply

In many ways this piece follows on from last months article about the original interior of Vanbrugh’s Kings Weston house. It comes after we discovered another mansion, Gloster House, in Ireland, with some interesting similarities. The architectural history of England and Ireland are rarely studied together, yet national distinctions were less prominent during the Eighteenth Century when the two kingdoms fell under a single ruler.

The distinctive original appearance of the Saloon at Kings Weston reconstructed. Reconfigured, the room is now known as the hall or gallery. 

Gloster House, County Offaly, is a long low-lying mansion built from around 1700 onwards. The two later wings rather upset the balance of the original nine-bay façade in the middle, an exterior that perhaps looks a little earlier than what lies within. Entering through the front door there is a spectacular double-height space and immediately in front of the visitor are two tiers of arches, the upper being an open gallery like that which once existed at Kings Weston.  The main hall gives onto an inner hall from which a pair of staircases take you up to the gallery level from where views back into the hall can be enjoyed. Alcoves line the side walls in a similar way as drawings suggest was the case at Kings Weston. There are some key differences of course, there are no fireplaces in this space, and the overall impression is more decorative and ornamental than similar spaces designed by Vanbrugh.

Ground floor plan of Gloster House, County Offaly. Later extensions shown in light grey and double-height space in paler blue. 

These works at Gloster House, dating probably to the 1720s, have been attributed to perhaps Ireland’s most important architect, Edward Lovett Pearce. He’s a figure we’ve brought into Kings Weston’s story before. Born into an Irish family, Edward was a cousin of Sir John Vanbrugh and, at 16 years old, was apprenticed to him after the death of his own father in 1715. This was a period during which Vanbrugh’s office was still overseeing works at Kings Weston. Whilst other works would have become familiar to the young pupil, it appears as though Kings Weston’s interior made an impact.

The entrance hall at Gloster House, County Offaly. (Gloster House website)
The gallery, with arches on the left overlooking the hall. (Gloster House website) 

After a brief time in the army in 1717 Lovett Pearce returned to architecture and to his homeland. It is during this early period that the Gloster House work is supposed to have been completed. The similarity between the lost Saloon at Kings Weston what Pearce later achieved in Ireland is most marked. Pearce increasingly moved away from Vanbrugh’s Baroque style to the developing Palladian movement, but at Gloster House he combines Vanbrugh’s dramatic and playful use of space with more modern ornamentation. The tight cage of stone arcades constricting the staircase that was built at kings Weston is transformed in Gloster House into a light open gallery with a single freestanding colonnade and classical-inspired vault.  
 
Gloster House is not the only building that seems to owe Kings Weston its inspiration. Dated 1720, a design for stables survives in the Kings Weston Book of Drawings authored by a Mr Price. Although this is the only known reference to this gentleman it shows he was a competent architect. Though the context in which the drawing was created are not known, Mr Price is likely to have been familiar enough with Kings Weston to be able to supply designs complementary enough to Vanbrugh’s house. It’s likely that Price was “John Price of Richmond” (sometimes “of Wandsworth”). Price has the strongest claim to be architect of Barnsley Park, Gloucestershire, where works were ongoing in 1720.

The entrance front of Barnsley Park, Gloucestershire. 

Just a glance at the entrance front of Barnsley Park and one can see similarities. The composition of the temple frontage, bold keystones, arched windows, weighty attic storey and pediment all feel familiar. The other elevations are all entirely different, a feature shared with Kings Weston, but entirely individual in character. We have to go within to see how exposure to the unique Saloon of Kings Weston might have translated into Price’s work. The entrance hall repeats Kings Weston’s double-height space and uses an open arcaded back wall to introduce a dramatic visual connection between it and the inner hall and gallery beyond. Unlike Kings Weston or Gloster House, the inner hall isn’t a showcase for a grand stair, this is set off to one side. Another oddity is that the first floor gallery doesn’t take advantage of the open arcades for a grandstand view, instead allowing the arches to stand as little more than a room divider. Instead, the gallery bridges the inner hall along its back wall.
 
The ceilings to the two halls at Barnsley Park are the reverse of the arrangement at Kings Weston; the heavily coved front Hall is like the one formerly in the stair hall at Kings Weston, and the flat ceiling with a central oval compartment more like the surviving Saloon ceiling. Could the coved ceiling existing at Barnsley Park show us what might have been lost to the Victorian refurbishment of the stair hall?    

The hall at Barnsley Park, Gloucestershire, with its own version of the arcaded end wall. 

Like Gloster House, much of the effect at Barnsley Park arises from thickly applied decorative embellishments rather than simple architectural form, and, in that, they likely differ from Vanbrugh’s intentions at Kings Weston. This was a building Vanbrugh referred to as a “chateau” and clearly hoped it would assert a masculine, martial, presence on landscape and occupants alike. This perhaps proved to be the undoing of the Saloon and stair hall. No longer in line with the developing direction in architecture, lacking in domestic comforts, and otherwise inhospitable, it’s unsurprising that they were remodelled by later generations. However, these two surviving interiors, one by Pearce and the other by Price, might allow us a glimpse of what was lost.  

Ground floor plan of Barnsley Park, the paler blue denoting the double-height spaces.