Woodchester Mansion
Encyclopedia
Woodchester Mansion is an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion
house located in Woodchester Park near Nympsfield
in Woodchester
, Gloucestershire
, England
. It was formerly known as Spring Park.
The Mansion was abandoned by its builders in the middle of construction, leaving behind a building that appears complete from the outside, but with floors, plaster and whole rooms missing inside. It has remained in this state since the mid-1870s.
The Mansion's creator William Leigh bought the Woodchester Park estate for £100,000, demolishing an existing house on the site, known as "Spring Park" which was home to the Ducie Family.
for Woodchester was in the heart of the settlement of Woodchester, next to the old church. After a succession of owners, the manor was granted to George Huntley in 1564. Subsequently, he decided to create a deer park
, a little distance from the manor house, by both purchase and through the enclosure of common agricultural land in the Inchbrook valley. A seven-mile long boundary wall surrounded the park and by 1610 a hunting lodge was built at the western end.
stayed - and in 1788, George III visited.
Before the visit of George III - and only 30 years after the formal gardens were established - a start was made on extensively re-landscaping the grounds from plans drawn-up by John Speyers, working with Capability Brown
. This plan removed the more formal aspect of the garden to create a naturalistic park. Part of the plan also turned a group of small fishponds into a series of lakes - and this was done in the late 18th or early 19th Century.
Not only was the park remodelled but the house too - several times in the 1770s and 1830s (including the reintroduction of a more formal garden area by Humphry Repton
) but in 1840 when the 2nd Earl Ducie wanted further alterations and repairs, the estimate was thought to be too great and the estate was sold to William Leigh, a wealthy merchant.
, and educated at Oxford and Eton
. At the time of the purchase he was living at Little Aston Hall
in Staffordshire
, where he had recently converted to the Roman Catholic faith. This and the Gothic Revival style in architecture were fashionable, and formed the ideology for the new house. He approached Augustus Pugin
to draw up the plans.
Pugin drew up plans for the house but in 1846 he became ill and the project was allowed to drop. Leigh meanwhile gave land in South Woodchester to a community of Roman Catholic Passionist
fathers for a monastery and church. He then turned to Charles Francis Hansom
, whose brother designed the famous Hansom cab
of Victorian London, to take over the architectural planning.
In 1857 Leigh however dropped Hansom, and unexpectedly hired Benjamin Bucknall
, a young man who was an aspiring architect and assistant to Hansom, but very inexperienced. Bucknall set about studying Gothic Revival architecture - the result, Woodchester Mansion, is Bucknall’s masterpiece.
Woodchester Mansion was constructed from 1858 to 1870, and finally in 1873, when William Leigh died, all work stopped.
It may be surmised that Leigh's surviving family were less keen on the design for shortly after Leigh's death they asked another architect, James Wilson (Architect)
of Bath, to propose a new design. This he did in his flamboyant Italianate
style, but the cost of completing a new mansion was too great for any of them to afford. (Indeed, it raises the question of how they ever thought they could both demolish and build a completely new building, but clearly it underlines that they did not share their father's passion for living in monastic conditions.) Wilson had his own opinion of the site and wanted the family to build, if they were going to, in a new location in the valley.
Wilson wrote:
In the meantime, Bucknall had moved to Algiers
where he worked on domestic projects and villas. The reason for his move is unknown, although poor health is one reason put forward, but without doubt he must have been bitterly disappointed that his grand vision and architectural statement had not been realised. Indeed, in 1878 he wrote to Leigh's son:
In 1894 Cardinal Vaughan paid a visit to the house, and the drawing room was updated, but from that day on the house stood often empty. The next heir, Vincent Leigh, briefly lived in part of the house, and his sisters in the gatehouse.
Local people ensured it never fell into total disrepair and the Mansion and a small area of surrounding land was eventually purchased by Stroud
District Council, who leased it to a building restoration trust, the Wooodchester Mansion Trust, in 1992. A board of Trustees manage the Mansion and open it to the public on many weekends from April through until October with the aid of volunteers. The Trust also operates a programme of training courses in stone conservation and craftsmanship at the Mansion.
, and is open to the public as part of its Woodchester Park. Woodchester Park includes several buildings including a gatehouse, boathouse, several cottages and an ice house. There are several large lakes with many paths and walks through the fields and woods. Much of Woodchester
village was owned by Woodchester Park.
The building is home to important colonies of protected lesser horseshoe and greater horseshoe bats and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
.
In 2003, several scenes from an episode of ITV
's Magick Eve
concerning the Gothic subculture were filmed within the house along with a performance by the UK Goth band Cauda Pavonis
. In the 2006 BBC
production of Dracula
, Woodchester Mansion was used as Dracula's (played by Marc Warren
) dilapidated Castle. The library on the ground floor (one of only a few rooms completed within the house) was used as the guest bedroom in which Jonathan Harker
(Rafe Spall
) was murdered and Abraham Van Helsing
(David Suchet
) attacked by Dracula.
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
house located in Woodchester Park near Nympsfield
Nympsfield
Nympsfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located around six miles south-west of the town of Stroud. As well as Nympsfield village, the parish also contains the hamlet of Cockadilly....
in Woodchester
Woodchester
Woodchester is a Gloucestershire village in the Nailsworth Valley, a valley in the South Cotswolds in England, running southwards from Stroud along the A46 road to Nailsworth....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was formerly known as Spring Park.
The Mansion was abandoned by its builders in the middle of construction, leaving behind a building that appears complete from the outside, but with floors, plaster and whole rooms missing inside. It has remained in this state since the mid-1870s.
The Mansion's creator William Leigh bought the Woodchester Park estate for £100,000, demolishing an existing house on the site, known as "Spring Park" which was home to the Ducie Family.
History
The original manor houseManor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
for Woodchester was in the heart of the settlement of Woodchester, next to the old church. After a succession of owners, the manor was granted to George Huntley in 1564. Subsequently, he decided to create a deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
, a little distance from the manor house, by both purchase and through the enclosure of common agricultural land in the Inchbrook valley. A seven-mile long boundary wall surrounded the park and by 1610 a hunting lodge was built at the western end.
Ducie family
The expense of creating the park is thought to have nearly bankrupted the Huntleys and the manor and park were sold to Sir Robert Ducie in 1631. Later generations of the Ducie family decided to build a grand country house and, at the same time, create a magnificent landscaped park out of the deer park. Quite why this site was chosen will forever remain an enigma. The steep sides of the valley mean that for much of the year the sun is obscured. The house being positioned halfway down the length of the valley reduces the dramatic views that would have surely been seen if it had been built on a higher spot. The site is neither convenient nor easy for transport. As it was not the Ducie's principal residence, they may have looked at it more as an isolated retreat. In any case, they decided to extend and adapt the hunting lodge and lay out a formal garden, and although a precise start date is not known, the house - called Spring Park - was constructed during the 1740s. Certainly by 1750 it was finished, as Frederick, Prince of WalesFrederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
stayed - and in 1788, George III visited.
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
. This plan removed the more formal aspect of the garden to create a naturalistic park. Part of the plan also turned a group of small fishponds into a series of lakes - and this was done in the late 18th or early 19th Century.
Not only was the park remodelled but the house too - several times in the 1770s and 1830s (including the reintroduction of a more formal garden area by Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...
) but in 1840 when the 2nd Earl Ducie wanted further alterations and repairs, the estimate was thought to be too great and the estate was sold to William Leigh, a wealthy merchant.
William Leigh
William Leigh was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, and educated at Oxford and Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. At the time of the purchase he was living at Little Aston Hall
Little Aston Hall
Little Aston Hall, in Little Aston, Staffordshire, England, was constructed around 1730 by Richard Scott of nearby Great Barr Hall, in a Georgian style with a park and lake...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, where he had recently converted to the Roman Catholic faith. This and the Gothic Revival style in architecture were fashionable, and formed the ideology for the new house. He approached Augustus Pugin
Augustus Pugin
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was an English architect, designer, and theorist of design, now best remembered for his work in the Gothic Revival style, particularly churches and the Palace of Westminster. Pugin was the father of E. W...
to draw up the plans.
Pugin drew up plans for the house but in 1846 he became ill and the project was allowed to drop. Leigh meanwhile gave land in South Woodchester to a community of Roman Catholic Passionist
Passionist
The Passionists are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Saint Paul of the Cross . Professed members use the initials C.P. after their names.-History:St...
fathers for a monastery and church. He then turned to Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style.-Career:...
, whose brother designed the famous Hansom cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
of Victorian London, to take over the architectural planning.
In 1857 Leigh however dropped Hansom, and unexpectedly hired Benjamin Bucknall
Benjamin Bucknall
thumb|240px|right|Woodchester Mansion, GloucestershireBenjamin Bucknall was an English architect of the Gothic Revival in Southwest England and South Wales, and then of neo-Moorish architecture in Algeria...
, a young man who was an aspiring architect and assistant to Hansom, but very inexperienced. Bucknall set about studying Gothic Revival architecture - the result, Woodchester Mansion, is Bucknall’s masterpiece.
Woodchester Mansion was constructed from 1858 to 1870, and finally in 1873, when William Leigh died, all work stopped.
James Wilson (architect)
James Wilson was a prominent Victorian architect practising in Bath, Somerset and partner in the firm Wilson & Willcox.On 12 January 1843 he married Maria Buckley of Llanelli, and in 1846 they had a son, James Buckley Wilson, who followed his father to also became an architect.-List of Buildings:*St...
of Bath, to propose a new design. This he did in his flamboyant Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style, but the cost of completing a new mansion was too great for any of them to afford. (Indeed, it raises the question of how they ever thought they could both demolish and build a completely new building, but clearly it underlines that they did not share their father's passion for living in monastic conditions.) Wilson had his own opinion of the site and wanted the family to build, if they were going to, in a new location in the valley.
Wilson wrote:
In the meantime, Bucknall had moved to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
where he worked on domestic projects and villas. The reason for his move is unknown, although poor health is one reason put forward, but without doubt he must have been bitterly disappointed that his grand vision and architectural statement had not been realised. Indeed, in 1878 he wrote to Leigh's son:
In 1894 Cardinal Vaughan paid a visit to the house, and the drawing room was updated, but from that day on the house stood often empty. The next heir, Vincent Leigh, briefly lived in part of the house, and his sisters in the gatehouse.
The twentieth century
In 1938, William Leigh's granddaughters, Blanche and Beatrice, sold the house - and what was left of the estate - to a mental health charity, the Barnwood House Trust. They intended to convert the Mansion into a mental hospital, but subsequently this plan was shelved. During the Second World War, the grounds were used as a billet for Canadian and American troops, and the Mansion itself used by St Paul's Teacher Training College. It was then abandoned to the elements. Fortunately, its isolated position meant it did not suffer from vandalism; it was not redeveloped.Local people ensured it never fell into total disrepair and the Mansion and a small area of surrounding land was eventually purchased by Stroud
Stroud (district)
Stroud is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. It is named after its largest town, Stroud, and has its administrative headquarters in Ebley Mill, in the Ebley area on the outskirts of the town.thumb |left |Ebley Mill...
District Council, who leased it to a building restoration trust, the Wooodchester Mansion Trust, in 1992. A board of Trustees manage the Mansion and open it to the public on many weekends from April through until October with the aid of volunteers. The Trust also operates a programme of training courses in stone conservation and craftsmanship at the Mansion.
Woodchester Park
The parkland around the mansion is owned by the National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, and is open to the public as part of its Woodchester Park. Woodchester Park includes several buildings including a gatehouse, boathouse, several cottages and an ice house. There are several large lakes with many paths and walks through the fields and woods. Much of Woodchester
Woodchester
Woodchester is a Gloucestershire village in the Nailsworth Valley, a valley in the South Cotswolds in England, running southwards from Stroud along the A46 road to Nailsworth....
village was owned by Woodchester Park.
The building is home to important colonies of protected lesser horseshoe and greater horseshoe bats and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
Television
The television programme Most Haunted Live featured the house in 2003, and again in 2005. It has become a regular haunt for ghost hunters. The building has featured on several television programmes, including the ghost hunting show Hauntings. The Mansion is also featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters InternationalGhost Hunters International
Ghost Hunters International is a spin-off series of Ghost Hunters that airs on Syfy. The series premiered on January 9, 2008...
.
In 2003, several scenes from an episode of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Magick Eve
Magick Eve
-Summary:Adam Lea and Emma Jane Portch take on the roles of a young couple whose night out at the pub takes a bizarre turn that leads them into the weird world of unexplained phenomena....
concerning the Gothic subculture were filmed within the house along with a performance by the UK Goth band Cauda Pavonis
Cauda Pavonis
Cauda Pavonis are a UK Deathrock band founded in 1998, by Su Farr and Dave Wainwright. Originally conceived as a 'dark romantic' experience, Cauda Pavonis broke onto the UK goth circuit supporting acts such as Star Industry and Inkubus Sukkubus...
. In the 2006 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production of Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
, Woodchester Mansion was used as Dracula's (played by Marc Warren
Marc Warren
Marc Warren is an English actor, known for his British television roles as Danny Blue in Hustle, Dougie Raymond in The Vice and Dominic Foy in State of Play.-Career:...
) dilapidated Castle. The library on the ground floor (one of only a few rooms completed within the house) was used as the guest bedroom in which Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker is one of the main protagonists in the 1897 horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. His journey to Transylvania and encounter with Count Dracula and the Brides of Dracula at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.-In the...
(Rafe Spall
Rafe Spall
Rafe Joseph Spall is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the Edgar Wright films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz , alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. He had previously appeared alongside Pegg and Frost in a 2001 episode of Spaced...
) was murdered and Abraham Van Helsing
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham van Helsing is a protagonist from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula.Van Helsing is a Dutch doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc." The character is best known as a...
(David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
) attacked by Dracula.