Lake House
Encyclopedia
Lake House is an Elizabethan
country house
dating from 1578, in Wilsford-cum-Lake in Wiltshire
, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The gardens are Grade II listed in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest
.
was also built, and flint
chequerwork
: its treatment at Lake House has been described as "an outstanding example of this technique". The house has two stories, with basement and attic areas; the stone mullion windows have transoms. It has gabled terracotta-tiled roofs and the chimneys are diagonally-set. Its west front faces the road and is symmetrical, forming a five-part pattern of central projecting porch, flanked on either side by recessed windows and then at each end by semi-octagonal bay windows. The projecting bay areas carry up the full height of the two storeys and are topped by crenallations. There are five small windowed gables at roof level. The Duke family shield is above the doorway.
It is thought that the original building was L-shaped, with the principal block facing west (as today) and the shorter block running eastwards behind its northern end. It has been suggested that this north wing may incorporate part of an earlier house. A parallel wing, which partly fills the internal angle of the L, is thought to have been built to accommodate a Georgian staircase in the late 18th century.
In 1897 the house left the possession of the Duke family for the first time in nine generations, when the widow of the Rev. Edward Duke (1814–95), who was an archaeologist and colleague of Richard Colt Hoare, sold the house. The buyer, Joseph Lovibond
, had the house thoroughly restored under the direction of architect Detmar Blow
working with the advice of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
. The work was considered "a showpiece of restoration at a time when methods of restoring were the subject of much controversy."
Only fifteen years later, in 1912, the house was completely gutted by fire, and all of the original period features and fittings were destroyed. Detmar Blow again oversaw the restoration, altering the plan and using appropriate late 16th and 17th century chimneypieces and panelling salvaged from other buildings of the period. Lovibond died in 1918 and the house and its estate was sold to Lord Glenconner
, who united it with that of Wilsford. Lord Glenconner never lived in the house, instead letting it to tenants. After the death of Lord Glenconner's widow, Lady Grey, the house and combined estates were purchased by its second tenant, Lt. Col. F. G. G. Bailey.
In 1933 Bailey commissioned architect Darcy Braddell to make additions to the house, in a style sympathetic to the original, and again using architectural elements and internal fittings salvaged from elsewhere. At the south-east corner a single-storey dining hall was built, with a barrel vaulted ceiling and large oriel
window; a spectacular seventeenth century carved stone chimneypiece; panelling and carved frieze dated 1633, to which Bailey had his family initials added, and plaster ceiling from a London livery company. At the same time the 18th-century wing adjoining it was given a gabled treatment to bring it into harmony with the rest of the building. To the north of the dining hall were added kitchens and offices on two levels, extending across the east part of the house. In 1956 the estates were in the ownership of Lady Janet Bailey, Col. Bailey's widow. The house was purchased by musician Sting and his wife Trudie Styler
in the early 1990s. Sting recorded his album Ten Summoner's Tales
in the house, and the couple run an organic farm on the estate. In 1999 Styler co-authored The Lake House Cookbook, with her chef, Joseph Sponzo, which contains photographs and information about the house.
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
dating from 1578, in Wilsford-cum-Lake in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The gardens are Grade II listed in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...
.
History
Lake House was built in 1578 for George Duke, a wealthy clothier, shortly after he acquired the manor of Lake. The house is built of Chilmark stone, the pale limestone from which Salisbury CathedralSalisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
was also built, and flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
chequerwork
Flushwork
-Description:In architecture, flushwork is the decorative combination on the same flat plane of flint and ashlar stone. It is characteristic of the external walls of medieval buildings, most of the survivors being churches, in parts of Southern England, but especially East Anglia...
: its treatment at Lake House has been described as "an outstanding example of this technique". The house has two stories, with basement and attic areas; the stone mullion windows have transoms. It has gabled terracotta-tiled roofs and the chimneys are diagonally-set. Its west front faces the road and is symmetrical, forming a five-part pattern of central projecting porch, flanked on either side by recessed windows and then at each end by semi-octagonal bay windows. The projecting bay areas carry up the full height of the two storeys and are topped by crenallations. There are five small windowed gables at roof level. The Duke family shield is above the doorway.
It is thought that the original building was L-shaped, with the principal block facing west (as today) and the shorter block running eastwards behind its northern end. It has been suggested that this north wing may incorporate part of an earlier house. A parallel wing, which partly fills the internal angle of the L, is thought to have been built to accommodate a Georgian staircase in the late 18th century.
In 1897 the house left the possession of the Duke family for the first time in nine generations, when the widow of the Rev. Edward Duke (1814–95), who was an archaeologist and colleague of Richard Colt Hoare, sold the house. The buyer, Joseph Lovibond
Joseph Williams Lovibond
Joseph Williams Lovibond was a British brewer who developed the world's first practical colorimeter as a means of ensuring the high quality of his beer. He was the originator of the Degrees Lovibond scale.-Biography:...
, had the house thoroughly restored under the direction of architect Detmar Blow
Detmar Blow
Detmar Jellings Blow was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocracy, and later he became estates manager to the Duke of Westminster...
working with the advice of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings was founded by William Morris, Philip Webb and J.J.Stevenson, and other notable members of the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood, in 1877, to oppose what they saw as the insensitive renovation of ancient buildings then occurring in Victorian...
. The work was considered "a showpiece of restoration at a time when methods of restoring were the subject of much controversy."
Only fifteen years later, in 1912, the house was completely gutted by fire, and all of the original period features and fittings were destroyed. Detmar Blow again oversaw the restoration, altering the plan and using appropriate late 16th and 17th century chimneypieces and panelling salvaged from other buildings of the period. Lovibond died in 1918 and the house and its estate was sold to Lord Glenconner
Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner
Edward Priaulx Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner , known as Sir Edward Tennant, 2nd Baronet, from 1906 to 1911, was a Scottish Liberal politician....
, who united it with that of Wilsford. Lord Glenconner never lived in the house, instead letting it to tenants. After the death of Lord Glenconner's widow, Lady Grey, the house and combined estates were purchased by its second tenant, Lt. Col. F. G. G. Bailey.
In 1933 Bailey commissioned architect Darcy Braddell to make additions to the house, in a style sympathetic to the original, and again using architectural elements and internal fittings salvaged from elsewhere. At the south-east corner a single-storey dining hall was built, with a barrel vaulted ceiling and large oriel
Oriel
An oriel window is a type of bay window which projects from a wall.Oriel may also refer to:Places in the United Kingdom:*Oriel College, Oxford*Oriel Street, Oxford*Oriel Square, Oxford*Oriel Chambers, LiverpoolPlaces in Ireland:...
window; a spectacular seventeenth century carved stone chimneypiece; panelling and carved frieze dated 1633, to which Bailey had his family initials added, and plaster ceiling from a London livery company. At the same time the 18th-century wing adjoining it was given a gabled treatment to bring it into harmony with the rest of the building. To the north of the dining hall were added kitchens and offices on two levels, extending across the east part of the house. In 1956 the estates were in the ownership of Lady Janet Bailey, Col. Bailey's widow. The house was purchased by musician Sting and his wife Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
in the early 1990s. Sting recorded his album Ten Summoner's Tales
Ten Summoner's Tales
Ten Summoner's Tales is the fourth solo studio album by the rock musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his given name, Gordon Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the summoner...
in the house, and the couple run an organic farm on the estate. In 1999 Styler co-authored The Lake House Cookbook, with her chef, Joseph Sponzo, which contains photographs and information about the house.
Further reading
- Architectural Review 1899 Volume 5, 171–9.
- Country Life Vol 23, 8 February 1908, pp 198–203
- Country Life Vol 81, 27 March 1937; pp 326–331
- Country Life Vol 81, 3 April 1937; pp 352–7
- B. Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire (2nd edn 1975), p576