Issue 39 Sept 23 - Journal - Page 56
A Transformational
Restoration of Stowe House
As well as repairs to the façade, the first phase also
involved relaying the roof in Westmorland and local stone
slates. The external scope also included the reinstatement
of a copper roof covering to the dome over the Marble
Saloon and re-roofing the adjacent hipped roofs.
Subsequent phases of the programme repaired the east
and west pavilions.
Stowe House in Buckinghamshire is recognised as one of
the finest neo-classical buildings in the country. The
Stowe House Preservation Trust (SHPT) own the 18th
century Grade I listed building, which is occupied
by Stowe School, whilst the National Trust own the
landscaped gardens. In 1999 the SHPT was awarded a
major grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to
restore the building and Purcell were appointed as
heritage and conservation architects. The conservation
and restoration programme has been almost continuous
for over twenty years, culminating last month with the
spectacular restoration of the State Dining Room.
There have been numerous unique challenges to
overcome with a house of this scale, from delivering a
major restoration programme while the house remained
in almost constant use, to the complication that most of
the original treasures were sold off when the house and
its contents were put up for sale in 1922. Tracing the
original artefacts involved detailed research to locate
them and then making casts or replicas based on original
information.
Purcell’s restoration programme has been carried out
in three phases, beginning in 1999 with repairs to the
external fabric of the north front and colonnades. A car
park was removed from the forecourt and the visitor
approach was improved, including the replacement of the
north portico steps. Stonework repairs were undertaken
using Bath stone to match the material used in the
original design, using traditional hand-tool masonry
techniques, with the application of a diluted iron sulphate
within the south portico. Originally, this technique was used
to disguise the differences in tonality of the stone, but for
the restoration it was used to tone-in the newer material.
All the major state rooms have undergone repair and
restoration including the Marble Saloon, which required
an extensive programme of conservation. The fine
coffered ceiling and Roman triumphal frieze were
conserved and restored, along with the marble floor. The
scagliola columns were cleaned and repolished and new
lighting was installed. Work to this room was completed
when copies of the original classical statuary were installed
in the niches.
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Above, The State Dining Room (c) Andy Marshall
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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