Detmar Blow

Detmar Jellings Blow (24 November 1867 – 7 February 1939)^[1] 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.^{[citation needed]}

The fiction that he was a descendant of the English restoration composer John Blow was started in 1910 by Detmar Blow's wife Winifred, a member of the aristocratic Tollemache family, as a means of obtaining a licence from St Paul's Cathedral for the marriage of herself and Detmar.^{[citation needed]}

Life and career

Son of Jellings Blow, of Hilles,

Blow's architectural work was very much influenced by his mentors Ruskin,

Blow designed various properties for Hugh "Bendor" Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, including the Château Woolsack, a hunting lodge at Mimizan in France. From 1916 to 1933 Blow worked almost exclusively for the duke, as manager of the Grosvenor estates, and as private secretary. His contemporary, Edwin Lutyens, described Blow in 1917 working as "a sort of baillif and Maitre d'Hotel as far as I can make out!"^[5] A later disagreement, over "largely unfounded" allegations of embezzlement, led to Blow's resignation and retirement.^[6][7]

Notable works

• Lake House, Wiltshire (1898). Restoration of an Elizabethan house near Salisbury, with oversight by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). Lake House was gutted by fire in 1912, and Blow returned to reinstate and secure the ancient walls for a second time.^[8]
• Stoneywell and Lea Cottages, Ulverscroft, Leicestershire (1898–9), to Ernest Gimson's designs.^[9] A 2012 appeal aimed to bring Stoneywell into the care of the National Trust.^[10]
• St Peter and St Paul's Church, Clare, Suffolk (1899). Restoration of the Church tower, again under SPAB oversight and guidance from Philip Webb.^[11]
• Happisburgh Manor, Happisburgh, Norfolk (1900). Blow's first major work, although the butterfly plan design was inspired by Ernest Gimson.^[12] Built as a seaside villa, it is now a holiday rental property.^[13]
• Stonehenge, Wiltshire (1900). When a trilithon fell over on 30 Dec 1900, Blow was engaged by SPAB both to re-erect and repair the lintel, and consider measures to prevent further erosion from the number of visitors.^[14]
• Amesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. Dates uncertain, but appears to be contemporary with his Stonehenge involvement.^[15]
• Lavington Park, West Sussex (1903). Elizabethan house built by the Garton Family, enlarged by Blow for
  Lord Woolavington. Now Seaford College.^[16]
• Little Ridge, Fonthill, Wiltshire (1904–6). Built for Hugh Morrison, it was constructed from the stones of Berwick St Leonard manor house, three miles away. Massively enlarged in 1912 and renamed Fonthill House, it was demolished in 1979.^[17]
• Church of St Mary and St Melor, Amesbury (1905). Structural restoration, working with architect C. E. Ponting.^[18]
• Wilsford Manor, Wilsford cum Lake, Wiltshire (1906) for Edward and Pamela Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, with internal woodwork by Ernest Gimson.^[19]
• Phoebe Traquair
  .
• Bovey Castle, Devon (1907) for the second Viscount Hambleden.
• Bramham Park, Yorkshire (1908). Restoration for the Lane-Fox family.
• Breccles Hall, Norfolk (1907–9). Rebuilt from a substantially ruined Elizabethan manor, with considerable care over the conservation and archaeological evidence.^[20]
• Billesley Manor, Warwickshire (1906–13). Now a hotel.^[21]
• Hatch House, Newtown, Wiltshire (1908).^[22]
• Islay House (1910) Nursery wing.
• Heale House, Woodford, Wiltshire (1910). Blow added a new wing for the Hon. Louis Greville.
• 46 Grosvenor Street, London (1910–11). Reconstruction of two townhouses into a single residence for Sir Edgar Speyer.^[23][24]
• Horwood House, Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire (1912) with Fernand Billery.^[25]
• Château Woolsack, Mimizan, France (1912). A hunting lodge for the 2nd Duke of Westminster.
• Hilles, Harescombe, Gloucestershire (started in 1913). Built for himself and still occupied by the Blow family.
• Lady Mary Elcho, later Lady Wemyss, sister of Pamela Tennant, and one of the founders of The Souls.^[26]
• Schloss Kranzbach, Krün, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (1915). Blow's plans, in Arts and Crafts style, were drawn up in 1913 for the Hon. Miss Mary Portman, who intended it to be an artist's retreat. Building work was completed in 1915, but the war meant neither Blow nor Portman saw it.[27] Used as accommodation for the 1936 Winter Olympics, it is now a hotel.^[28]
• Gwrych Castle, Abergele, Wales (1914). He was instructed by Winifred, Countess of Dundonald to extend the castle by building a grand staircase, the walls were finished with white and green Italian marble.^[29]
• Wootton Manor, Polegate, Sussex (1915?). 17th-century manor house, with 14th-century elements, greatly enlarged by Blow for the Gwynne family.^[30]
• Holcombe House, Stroud, Gloucestershire (1925), leased by Blow to Lady Plymouth, formerly Gay Windsor, another of The Souls.^[31]
• Broome Park, Kent (1915–16). Lord Kitchener had bought it in 1911, and involved Blow in its renovation. One of the few building commissions he had during the Great War, it was unfinished when Kitchener died in 1916.^[5]

References