Witley Court
Witley Court | |
---|---|
Type | House |
Location | Great Witley, Worcestershire, England |
Coordinates | 52°16′56″N 2°20′20″W / 52.2821°N 2.3388°W |
Architect | John Nash, Samuel Daukes |
Architectural style(s) | Italianate |
Governing body | Historic England |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Witley Court and Link to Church of St Michael, Great Witley |
Designated | 12 November 1951 |
Reference no. | 1082656 |
Witley Court, in Great Witley, Worcestershire, England, is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the architect John Nash for Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley. The estate was later sold to the Earls of Dudley, who undertook a second massive reconstruction in the mid-19th century, employing the architect Samuel Daukes to create one of the great palaces of Victorian and Edwardian England.
The declining fortune of the Dudleys saw the sale of the court after the
Witley Court, and the attached Church of St Michael and All Angels, are both Grade I listed buildings
History
16th-18th centuries
The earliest building on the site was a
In the second half of the 18th century the park was landscaped. This included the relocation of the village of Great Witley, which came too close to the south front (rear) of the house. In about 1805 Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley (1780–1833) employed John Nash to carry out a major reconstruction of the house, including the addition of huge ionic porticoes to the north and south fronts.[1]
19th century
In 1837 serious debt forced Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley (1808–1869) to sell the estate to the trustees of William Ward, 11th Baron Ward (1817–1885, later 1st Earl of Dudley), who had inherited a great fortune from the coal and iron industries in the Black Country.[3]
From 1843 to 1846 Witley Court was loaned to
In the 1850s,
In 1885 the
20th–21st centuries
In 1920 Witley Court was sold by the 2nd Earl to Sir Herbert Smith, a Kidderminster carpet manufacturer.[8] Sir Herbert maintained only a skeleton staff to manage the house whilst he and his family were away, and many areas were left unused. A major accidental fire broke out in September 1937, whilst Sir Herbert was at another of his houses. It started in the bakery situated in the basement room of the now least preserved tower.[9] The staff tried to put the fire out with the ancient fire pump, which was connected to the fountain, but it failed to work as it had not been maintained for many years. Although only one wing of the house was gutted by the fire and the rest of it was almost intact, the insurance company declined to cover the major damage, so Sir Herbert resolved to sell the property.[10]
The estate was broken up and sold in lots. The house was bought by scrap dealers who stripped what they could from the house, leaving it an empty shell. In 1972 the remnants of the house and garden (excluding the church) were taken into care by the government, via a compulsory guardianship order. The ruins today are still spectacular, and the property is in the care of English Heritage.[10]
A video made in 1967 by the band
In 2003 Witley Court's owners, the Wigington family of Stratford-upon-Avon, who had acquired it in 1953 for £20,000, placed the
The ruins were featured prominently in the 2016 British TV miniseries Close to the Enemy.[citation needed]
Architecture
The original manor of the Russells was a medieval house. This was replaced by a brick mansion to an H-plan in the mid-seventeenth century.
Gardens and fountains
The two immense fountains survived the fire and subsequent despoliation of the house. They were designed by Nesfield and executed by
In more recent times, the original plans and designs for the formal gardens have been discovered, and they are in the process of being restored. The main area of the gardens, the South Parterre, between the house and the Perseus and Andromeda fountain, has already been completed. Meanwhile, work on the East Parterre region is ongoing.
Gallery
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Full view of the now fully operational Perseus and Andromeda fountain
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One of the two stone temples in the formal gardens
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View from within the Orangery
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Inside the vast gutted ballroom
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A scarce piece of surviving Carton Pierre plasterwork (a form of papier-mâché) in the Staircase Hall
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Close view of the Flora Fountain circa 1900 before it was damaged
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The East Parterre Garden circa 1900 showing the Flora Fountain undamaged
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The East Parterre Garden today showing the damaged Flora Fountain.
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The Perseus and Andromeda fountain, at Witley Court in 1897 when Lady Rachel Dudley and the 2nd Earl of Dudley were in residence.
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The Perseus and Andromeda fountain today looking very much as it did when Witley Court was a residence.
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Witley Court 1897 showing the gates which formed the entrance to the South part of the garden.
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A closer view of the gates which were the entrance to the south garden
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These gates still exist and are now the entrance to the London Bridge site in Lake Havasu City, Arizona in the USA
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Another view of the gates in Lake Havasu City. At the top of the gates the date 1862 can be seen which is when Nesfield completed the Witley Court gardens.
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Shooting party at Witley Court in 1894. The Prince of Wales is in the centre of the photo. The couple to the left of him are the Countess of Dudley (with the fur collar) and the2nd Earl of Dudley(with the white cap)
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Garden Party in front of the Perseus and Andromeda fountain circa 1900. The Countess of Dudley is seated in the center; her daughter, Edith, is in the boat; her daughter, Lady Mackenzie is 2nd from right; the Marquess of Bath is 5th from right, and next to him Violet Mordaunt (daughter of Harriet Mordaunt and later Marchioness of Bath).
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A carriage outside Witley Court circa 1900. The couple on the far side are the2nd Earl of Dudleyand his wife Rachel.
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The fire at Witley Court in 1937. View from in front of the house
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Witley Court fire in 1937. View from the side looking over the East Parterre Garden
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View of the Witley Court fire from above
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William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley who bought Witley Court in 1837
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Georgina, Countess of Dudley, wife of the 1st Earl of Dudley.
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William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudleywho inherited Witley Court when his father died in 1885
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Rachel, Countess of Dudley, wife of the2nd Earl of Dudley.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Brooks & Pevsner 2007, p. 325.
- ^ "Great Witley Church 360". Greatwitleychurch.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Pardoe 1986, p. 12.
- ^ White 2006, p. 23.
- ^ Wardle 2010, p. 9.
- ^ Wardle 2010, p. 108.
- ^ Pardoe 1986, p. 21.
- ^ White 2006, p. 28.
- ^ "Stately in Abandonment: Witley Court – Destroyed by Fire". Sometimes Interesting. 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b White 2006, p. 29.
- ^ "Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Who on earth would spend a pile on a ruin?". Worcestershire Archives. 9 August 2003. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
- ^ "Mystery buyer for old home". Express & Star. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ "James Forsyth - Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951". sculpture.gla.ac.uk.
- ^ "Witley Court, a Grand Ruin in Worcestershire".
- ^ "Restoration of the "Perseus and Andromeda" Fountain". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ "Drinking Fountain". Historic England.
References
- Brooks, Alan; ISBN 978-0-300-11298-6.
- Pardoe, Bill (1986). Witley Court And Church. Peter Huxtable Designs Ltd. ISBN 0-948626-20-8.
- Wardle, Terry (2010). Heroes & Villains of Worcestershire. The History Press.
- White, Roger (2006). Witley Court and Gardens. London: English Heritage. ISBN 1-85074-845-4.
External links
- English Heritage
- Great Witley Church's official site
- 1967 music video of A Lighter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum This video shows Witley Court in a derelict state and illustrates the enormous difference that the restoration work has made.
- "Stately in Abandonment: Witley Court." Sometimes Interesting. 7 Aug 2014