IT was every country-house owner’s worst nightmare when, early one morning in January 1999, handsome Eardisley Park in the picturesque Wye Valley, 15 miles northwest of Hereford, burnt to the ground, leaving only the stone plinth enclosing the basement and the north wall of the classic Grade II*listed Queen Anne house still standing.
Fortunately, its owners, Nigel and Jane Morris-Jones and their four children, were away at the time, but the disaster was compounded by the fact that they had spent the previous three years restoring the house they had bought in 1996.
The original Queen Anne house was built by William Barnesley, a London merchant who bought the estate in about 1700. It stands on historic parkland established as a deer park in medieval times by the Baskerville family, where once stood the 11th-century Eardisley Castle that was razed to the ground after the English Civil War. The attic of the new house was converted into an additional storey later in the 18th century.
Undeterred by the enormity of the task, the couple set about ‘not only rebuilding the house, but rebuilding better than before’. Conservation architects Donald Insall Associates were commissioned to oversee the reconstruction shortly after completing work to repair the damage caused by the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992. The building work at Eardisley was undertaken by Hereford-based restoration specialists I. J. Preece and Son.
Denne historien er fra August 18, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 18, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
