The National Trust have announced plans to restore, renovate and revolutionise Clandon Park, the Guildford mansion gutted by fire last year, reports Emma Ashley
Clandon Park, after the April 2015 fire
Nine months since the fire that gutted Clandon Park, the 18th century Palladian Mansion near Guildford, the National Trust has revealed how it plans to restore the estate – including the gardens – to former glory.
The Trust said it had spent nine months reviewing a number of options for the property, and had concluded restoration was the best idea. This will be the biggest conservation project the charity has undertaken for decades, and will attempt to return the principal rooms of the ground floor to their original state, as they were when the home was built in the 1730s to the design of the Venetian architect Giacomo Leoni.
Work will be funded largely through the insurance payout from the fire, with the Trust planning to fundraise towards the end of the project to make up the costs.
Baron Arthur Onslow, the first Onslow to live at Clandon
The announcement will set the Trust at odds with the Onslow family, who have owned the house since it was built to when it was handed to the Trust in 1956. They have said they do not wish it to be rebuilt.
Rupert Onslow, a hereditary peer, insurance broker, and the 8th Earl of Onslow, has said he would prefer the money to be spent on preserving other Trust properties for the nation. He claimed that Clandon as he knew it is "lost", and that "this sad site should be left in peace and tranquillity".
The Speakers’ Parlour, one of Clandon’s most important rooms, thankfully suffered only minor damage during the blaze, while the entire external structure of the house as conceived by its Venetian architect remains in place.
The National Trust are confident that this room, as well as a number of other principal rooms on this floor, including the Marble Hall and Saloon will be restored to their full 18th century splendour.
While the rooms on the upper levels suffered greater damage, the Trust decided they were were less architecturally significant, and had already faced considerable alterations over the generations. Therefore, they propose to turn the top floor into an entirely modern space for exhibitions and events.
The charity is also proposing to return the Grade II-listed gardens to their original 1700s design. A geophysical survey by Historic England and an early 19th-century painting of the first house at Clandon will be used as visual guides in helping to recreate a garden the house would have had when first built.
The National Trust will encourage everyone, from members, visitors, specialists and the generic public to be involved in the planning process, including offering comments on the shortlist of design options. The National Trust will be hosting a competition later this year, to determine the right architect for the job.
Helen Ghosh, the Trust’s director general, declared that the announcement "marks an exciting new chapter in the Clandon story, and will represent one of most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the National Trust. The fire at Clandon was shocking, but gives us the opportunity not only to show our respect for the heritage of the past, but also to create new heritage for the future."
Despite many losses, including the football used in the No Man's Land Christmas Truce of 1914, over 400 items were recovered from the fire. They include a Bible printed by the King's Printer, John Baskett, and a painting depicting Speaker Arthur Onslow (the first Onslow at the house) calling upon Sir Robert Walpole to speak in the House of Commons, by Sir James Thornhill and William Hogarth. Both date back to the early 1700s, and were recovered from the library.
Considering the plans the National Trust have at this stage, it is clear that the property is set to become both a memento of the County's heritage, as well as an important cornerstone in the future of the region for generations to come.
Clandon Park is currently closed to visitors following the fire
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