The Mansion


This article was uploaded by Nicholas Cleak at 21:42 09 February 2008

The Mansion can look wonderful and intact on certain days, (NM137) at other times it looks very dilapidated and broken, (NM139) it depends whether the sun is shining or not as on a dull day it is very grey, yet when the sun shines it becomes a warm yellow tone. The main mansion and two now detached Pavilions are deteriorating badly since the roof fell in the 1980’s although the outside decorative walls are mainly fine; the substantial 2 ft thick inner walls (NM056) are breaking up from the inside with the weather. (NM085).

As I see it there can be no restoration of what is left, the outer wall Bath stone blocks (NM099) will have to be dismantled and laid out and mapped in order, and the rest demolished and a modern steel frame built and the outside wall blocks repaired and re-fitted. The place would look original then if the inner walls were built up with modern bricks and the rooms and staircase were decorated in the original style. The two huge, very heavy and decorative cast iron balcony supports which are still largely in perfect condition could easily be restored and used for their intended purpose again. (NM025) and all the fireplaces re-installed and routed to their respective chimneys. The Main chimney is now tottering on the edge of a collapsing wall (NM079), you can see the dividers in the bricks just under the chimney which separate the smoke from the various fire grates feeding it.

The main staircase was intact for the two upper floors when I first went there in the late 1970’s, the lower part was demolished by army explosive practices in 1940 .The stone buildings and Tudor houses to the rear (NM104) which could have housed the 30 or so servants (NM089) could be rebuilt and is in itself a huge place spread out around and attached to the rear of the Mansion.

There were two stair cases , the main grand one in the centre of the building and a second stone one in a dedicated narrow stairwell at the rear, most of the stone stair treads have collapsed now (NM029) but the upper staircase is still there .(NM066) This stone staircase (NM067-68-72) also led to the stone buildings at the rear of the mansion . There is one stair tread particularly worn (NM072).

It is interesting to see the many modifications to the structure, the arched entrances modified to be squared off, (NM074) and certain upper side windows bricked up but with the frames and glass still left in for some reason. (NM071) The cast iron drain pipes are still visible at ground level inside and outside the house (NM152) but due to debris falling and vegetation growing, the floor level is rising.

Near the cellar there are some old looking electrical wires in the debris, (NM154) there are no signs of any other “services” going to the Mansion except the water tank at the back.