Month: October 2024

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Architects Architecture Design Developers Luxury People Restaurants Town Houses

The Landmark Trust + Marshal Wade’s House Bath Somerset

Unvernacular

“I can well remember the first time I entered Bath. It was a very hot day in the summer of 1937 … towards the evening I came to the hills which engirdle the Queen City of the West. Tired and footsore as I was, I lost nothing of that breathtaking moment when the eye first catches sight of that lovely terraced city. Lying, so to speak, in a vast amphitheatre, surrounded by hills of enchanting beauty, it seemed like a city out of an Eastern romance, a new Jerusalem built by some magic hand in England’s green and pleasant land.” That is how Tony Smith reminisced on the Pride of Wessex in his 1944 book simply titled Bath. Hyperbole becomes reality in this city.

Four decades later Kenneth Hudson notes in The Fashionable Stone, “The development of the Combe Down quarries at Bath in the 18th century was due almost entirely to the enterprise of Ralph Allen, who went into the stone business immediately after the Avon navigation was completed in 1727. The improvement in communication by water from Bath made it possible to ship stone by barge to Bristol and from there by ship to anywhere in Britain. It was the Avon navigation that broke the virtual export monopoly that Portland had held for so long.”

The Landmark Trust’s central Bath property predates John Wood the Elder and John Wood the Younger’s developments. This remarkable 1720s townhouse built for Ralph Allen’s friend Field Marshal George Wade – swapping his military life in the Scottish highlands for political life as MP for Bath – was rescued by the Trust in 1975. The ground and first floors are retail use. The top two floors of this now single aspect (save for one landing roof window) south facing building are holiday accommodation. Two reception rooms evenly occupy the four bays of the second floor. A freestanding octagonal kitchen (sink, cooker, fridge and cupboards all in one waist height compact unit) in one of the reception rooms is parallel with five of the walls including the chamfered chimneypiece wall. This allows the panelling and bolection mouldings to remain intact. Two bedrooms on the storey above have floors so slanted that walking across them is like being tipsy on a rocky boat.

All seven main windows (one of the windows in the outer bathroom wall is a dummy) of the palazzo façade overlook Abbey Churchyard. Thankfully it’s a car free space unlike The Circus and Royal Crescent. The angels climbing up and down Jacob’s Ladder on the west elevation of Bath Abbey are almost in touching distance. Directly opposite are the roofs of The Pump Room. The best view is from the loo on the top floor. Unusually for this hallowed and documented city, the provenance of Marshal Wade’s House is lost in the mists of time. The architect was certainly familiar with Andrea Palladio’s Libri dell’Architettura of 1570. “The Ionic pilasters are the first in Bath of the giant order,” Richard Morriss confirms in The Buildings of Bath (1993), “rising through two storeys.” Charles Robertson records in An Architectural Guide to Bath (1974), “The attic storey is somewhat different and may have been added or altered at a later date. “The building next door to the east clearly has a later top floor.

Heading downhill and arriving four decades later, Robert Adam’s Pulteney Bridge is a lighter version of neoclassicism in contrast to the virility of Marshal Wade’s House. Richard Morriss ponders, “It is said to reflect Palladio’s proposal for the Rialto Bridge in Venice.” Charles Robertson isn’t so sure: “Walter Ison suggests that the design may be adapted from a drawing in Palladio’s Terzo Libri dell’Architettura but the resemblance is not at all close, and Adam would presumably have regarded imitation of Palladio as old fashioned. There is really no reason to consider this simple but masterly design as anything other than original.”

So who was the first occupant of this house? George Wade’s family had settled in County Westmeath in the 17th century. Clearly at some stage he crossed the Irish Sea to settle in the West Country. Denise Chantrey records in George Wade 1673 to 1748 (2009), “Wade was a man who made and kept many friends who might easily have been his enemies. He was straightforward and honest, and made a point of seeing the other man’s point of view. He was a flamboyant character and he loved cards, wine, women, comfort, good furniture and art. He had friends in high places but gambled in low dives. He was vain and often commissioned portraits of himself which he gave to family and friends.” It would be rude not to continue the established partying tradition then in his not so humble Palladian abode.

Director of The Landmark Trust Dr Anna Keay explains, “Over 50,000 people now stay every year in The Landmark Trust’s buildings and experience the pleasure of carrying the key of the door in their pocket, ‘a stimulus more powerful than a mere ticket of admission’, and the possibility, for which Landmark was founded, that they ‘might go back home with an interest awakened that would grow, and perhaps last them all of their lives’.” An awakened interest it is then but not before afternoon sherry is decanted at a stop off in Corkage. Life is a stage behind the velvet curtains of this intimate restaurant and bottle shop on Chapel Row. “There is a poignancy,” writes Jan Morris in the introduction to Charles Robertson’s Guide, “to this diminutive side of Bath, or if not a poignancy, a wistfulness.”

In The Landmark Handbook (1988) the then Prince of Wales wrote in the forward: “While I am fortunate to be the Patron or President of a great many charities, I have always been a particular enthusiast for the work of The Landmark Trust. Its philosophy accords closely with my own convictions that historic buildings need – indeed deserve – sympathetic and skilled repair and a viable contemporary purpose both to survive and thrive. It is wonderful that the Trust’s restored buildings give much enjoyment, as well as earn the income to support themselves and the charity that cares for them.” Much enjoyment – taking his now Majesty’s advice the toons are turned up! Min Hogg, Founding Editor of The World of Interiors, liked to have the last word, “The most successful houses reflect their surroundings.”

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Design Luxury People

The Charleston + Catchpole + Rye Fulham London

Fit for Royalty

There’s lots to celebrate on a Wednesday evening in Fulham. It’s the 10th anniversary of luxury bathroom company Catchpole and Rye’s showroom in London plus the launch of The Charleston washstand. Bring on the Chapel Down and canapés! Catchpole and Rye’s foundry and headquarters are in Kent so it is right to have sparkling wine from that county. The Garden of England is becoming the Vineyard of Britain. The fresh scent of floral arrangements from Blooming Green and candles from Wild Planet Aromatherapy fills the air of the showroom.

The Charleston has a distinctive outline with a chamfered cornered splashback and perpendicular angled legs. It is available as a single or double washstand – each is handmade to order and tailored to the client. There are four marble variations and a choice of eight hammered metal finishes. It’s a classic contemporary design that would look as good in a Robert Adam townhouse (circa 1792) as a Robert Adam country house (circa 1992), in a Richard Rogers apartment or a Richard Meier villa.

Managing Director Tony O’Donnell designed the new washstand. He explains, “We’re renowned for our traditional designs and that’s something we’re very proud of – for making our mark on the industry in that way. I wanted though to do something different with this design and create a more contemporary piece. A lot of engineering work went into creating a design with such sleek support that is still strong and sturdy. The Charleston is about form following function and the commitment to creating a beautiful piece of furniture.” A visit to Charleston House in the South Downs, the former home of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, provided Tony with artistic inspiration.

Catchpole and Rye was founded by husband and wife Tony and Elaine O’Donnell in 1991. They are originally from County Tipperary. It was the discovery of an old bath in their new house in Kent that prompted them to launch a bathroom company. He recalls, “The bath needed restoring so we set about trying to find someone who could do the work but there wasn’t anyone.” The O’Donnells filled the lacuna. “Our aim from then on was to find antique items for the bathroom and modernise their functionality. It wasn’t easy and we more or less had to invent the industry in Britain.” New ranges would follow. National would grow international. History in the making.

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Art Design Fashion Luxury People

Mary Martin London 10th Anniversary Show + Africa Fashion Week London 2024

The Relaunch of Modernity

Genesis to revelation, alpha to omega, 2014 to 2024, a decade of decadence, tenure insightfulness, a period of drama. Actress Vivienne Rochester proclaims: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void. And darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Life and the atmosphere that supports it underwent an extraordinary transformation. Life took a quantum leap from a single cell to a complex man. An awesome power on earth. Mother Earth supported mortal man. She said, ‘May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you and the pure light within you guide you on your way.’”

Vivienne announces, “From the time humans first walked the earth they have created and have been creative. We dance! We sing! We connect! We thrive! We evolve through our creativity and today we are privileged to see the creativity of Mary Martin London who uses the abundance of the earth, its cultures and its history to give context and storylines to her creations.” The fashion play begins in – where else? – the Garden of Eden floodlit by an illumination of Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night. But first, a short film of the unstoppable rise of the fashion artist told through her friends like singer songwriter Heather Small.

“I’m going to town for my 10th anniversary!” Mary had said a few months earlier over coffee in her south London atelier. Literally: Kensington Town Hall. “I’m bringing all the fashion – and so much more. It’s going to be an extravaganza of the arts. There’ll be artistic performances to accompany the highlights from my main collections: Fairytale; Hidden Queen; Queen of Africa; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Return, Black Excellence, Divine Intervention.”

Models strut down the catwalk in 50 sartorial masterpieces to a rapturous reception. The musical performances are as eclectic as the fashion. Hafsa Kazeem, a 12 year old musician, plays the African drum while Maxine Booth dances in contemporary waves of motion and emotion. Crossover soprano Emma Nuule delivers a breathtaking rendition of Giacomo Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro. Over a century after the opera Gianni Schicchi was first performed, she provides an enthralling A flat major musical interlude – 176 seconds – expressing the lyrical brilliance of Giovacchino Forzano’s libretto.

Singer Ashleigh Bankx performs her latest hit Miss You. Her sound is a fusion of influences from hip hop to sungura, a Zimbabwean genre of lead, rhythm and bass guitar melodies. Zimbabwean born London raised, Ashleigh started making music after finishing her law degree at Brunel University. Adasnoop mixes it up even more with her Afrobeats. Finally soul singer Jenessa Qua sings “I’m Every Woman” while Mary takes a bow before being joined by Queen Ronke and the full cohort of models.

Maxine also takes to the catwalk in one of the statement dresses. “I feel like I’ve known Mary for years,” she says afterwards, “even though this was my first show with her.” She dances, models, sings, presents and practises lymphatic drainage therapy. “Mary’s clothes are more than just elegant and sometimes sassy designs. They really make you feel good. Modelling requires a specific mindset. You have to be confident in who you are while letting the clothes shine. I’ve learnt to embrace my individuality without fear of judgment.” Such immediacy, such form, a proclivity of all existence itself.

One of the beautiful relationships Mary will later commend is her friendship with former accountant, organisational psychologist and ballerina Sue Elabor. They had a chance meeting while volunteering – Mary might be hugely creative and enormous fun but she takes her charitable work very seriously. She made The Green Ballerina for Sue. This outfit was showcased at the patrician Foreign and Commonwealth Office London photoshoot. Who could forget Swan Lake reverberating off the marble walls of Durbar Court as Sue peerlessly pirouetted one midsummer morning? The curtains of 10 Downing Street next door really were twitching.

Speaking at the US Embassy a few days before the opening show, HRM Queen Ronke Ademiluyi Ogunwusi, Founder of Africa Fashion Week London, recognised Mary’s contribution to the international arts world. “Mary was recently honoured by the Council of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, with a day named after her. It’s clear that the USA and UK can build bridges through diplomacy and fashion. Black history is an ongoing journey encompassing resilience, collaboration and creativity. It’s not merely a month long celebration. We can collectively honour our past, celebrate the present and inspire a future where our cultural heritage is respected and valued beyond borders.”

Afterwards, Mary would reflect, “God blessed me – He wanted this show to happen. I am very happy with it. I’m always to the left. I brought personality and all the arts to it. I wanted more than just a catwalk. It’s been a beautiful ride full of beautiful relationships.” Mary said she would like to give special thanks to: family and God, Sue Elabor, Stuart Blakley, HRM Queen Ronke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi The 1st of Ile-Ife Kingdom, Africa Fashion Week London, Adil Oliver Sharif, Smade, Reuben Joseph, Nick Galbusera, Allan Henry, Cecil Adjalo, Jeremie Alamazani, Monika Schaible, Lia Boothman, Litehouse, Vermondo Boshoff, Shaun Bailey Baron Bailey of Paddington, and every model, photographer, makeup artist and stylist past and present. All the while dancing, singing, connecting, thriving. On the frontline. Mary Martin London embodies Psalm 139:14, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The haunch of eternity.

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Architects Architecture Design Developers People Town Houses

St Augustine’s Grange + St Edward’s Presbytery Ramsgate Kent

All Saints

It’s the 172nd anniversary of the death of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, an important day to arrive at St Augustine’s Grange, Ramsgate, where he died on 14 September 1852. Despite his considerable contribution to architecture, he was only 40. But there is nothing morbid about our sun soaked visit to the Gothic Revivalist’s home and adjoining property, St Edward’s Presbytery, high above the shoreline of east Kent. This Grade I Listed enclave has been pristinely preserved and rationally revived as holiday accommodation by The Landmark Trust, that keeper of follies and other quirks of built heritage.

The interrelationship of the two houses set in the wider context of St Augustine’s Church next door (by Augustus) and St Augustine’s Monastery opposite (by Augustus’ eldest son Edward) is best experienced from the viewing platform of the tower (which houses water tanks and WCs) of The Grange. It’s a complex and clever Gothic jigsaw. Glorious built form, glorious urban scenery. Excitement of architecture is matched by thrill of geography: a sweep of coastline takes in Sandwich Bay and a distant Deal.

In his Introduction (2003) to The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture and An Apology for The Revival of Christian Architecture (1841 and 1843) Dr Roderick O’Donnell writes, “Pugin was to be at his most influential in reforming the practice of the Gothic Revival and domestic architecture of what, in another context, he called the ‘middle class’ home, and his revolutionary influence on its construction, planning and decoration was first demonstrated in his own house, St Augustine’s Grange, Ramsgate (1843). Pugin thus stands at the wellspring of 19th century architectural and design reform, which was to be reflected in the institution that would become the Victoria and Albert Museum, the publications of Ruskin, and the architecture and decorative programme of William Morris … the paternity of the 20th century Modern Movement can be tracked back to Pugin and to True Principles.”

To the early 21st century eye The Grange and The Presbytery may appear to be simply high quality Victorian architecture, but to the mid 19th century eye the elevational subservience to the plan would have appeared as a radical reversal of the neoclassical norm. A striking honesty is at work: no blind windows or screen walls; instead a proliferation of asymmetric window arrangements and visible buttresses. Augustus’ work is the antithesis of the contemporaneous symmetrical Italianate pair of villas closer to Ramsgate Royal Harbour called Vale and likely built by the developer William Saxby.

The Grange, a family house, looks across to the English Channel over the West Cliffs. The Presbytery, a secular priest’s house which came seven years later, is tucked between The Grange and St Augustine’s Road. Both were designed by Augustus; both have light filled additions by Edward. The porch of The Grange and the first floor studio of The Presbytery, each glazed above dado height, are second generation Pugin.

There is weight to the choice of materials: the unknapped flint of The Presbytery symbolically straddles the secular and religious: St Augustine’s Church is built of knapped flint and Whitby stone; The Grange, of London stock brick with Caen stone dressings. Dr Anna Keay, Director of The Landmark Trust, sums up the two properties as “Gothic heaven and available to all of us to book for a stay”. Upon entering through Edward’s gates to be greeted by a pair of heraldic stone lions on top of the gateposts, we’re enjoying Augustus’ oft quoted “delight of the sea with Catholic architecture and a library”.

The internal layout of The Grange was just as quietly groundbreaking as the exterior. A practical arrangement of main rooms clustered around a central staircase hall without any servants’ corridors would prove to be the forerunner of later Victorian suburban housing. Subsequent architects like Sir Edwin Lutyens would be inspired by Augustus’ thoughtful design such as the positioning of windows based on capturing the optimal light and framing the best views.

The family chapel, reception rooms and bedrooms are richly decorated with a wealth of pattern and colour provided by stained glass windows, wallpaper and encaustic tiles. In contrast, the uncontrived simplicity and solidity of the kitchen dresser would herald the honesty of workmanship of the Arts and Crafts movement led by among others Philip Webb and Charles Voysey. Augustus believed features should be decorated but must be functional. According to Stephen Coote in William Morris His Life and Work (1995), “Pugin declared, ‘Ornament should be no more than enrichment of the essential composition.’” This dedication to functionality as a starting point would sew the seeds of Modernism in the following century.

Dr Roderick O’Donnell wrote the entry for Edward Welby Pugin in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004): “Edward Welby Pugin (1834 to 1875), architect, was born on 11 March 1834 at Ramsgate, the eldest son of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812 to 1852) and his second wife, Louisa Burton (circa 1813 to 1844). He was trained by his father and at the age of 18 found himself in charge of his father’s practice, which he developed with many pupils and various partnerships, most importantly with his brother-in-law George Coppiner Ashlin in Ireland (1859 to 1869) and his brother Peter Paul Pugin (1851 to 1904) … Edward Pugin’s practice was overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. He worked initially in his father’s preferred Decorated Gothic style … From 1856 his style became more elaborate but his church plans simpler by widening the span of the arcades, diminishing chancel arches, and abolishing rood screens, so as to achieve simple sightlines set in shallow apses.”

Edward died unmarried in the arms of his brother Cuthbert Welby Pugin at his home on Victoria Street, Westminster. He was more outgoing than his father, frequenting Turkish baths and attending charitable functions. Roderick argues he was less important an architect than his father yet notes his style and plans became normative for Roman Catholic churches in the British Isles in the latter half of the 19th century. We reckon Edward’s surviving additions provide another layer of interest to The Grange and The Presbytery. The family firm continued as Pugin and Pugin.

Surrendering to the familial draw of Ramsgate, Cuthbert retired to The Grange where he died unmarried on 25 March 1928, outliving the combined age of his father and older brother by five years. The Landmark Trust decisively removed most of Edward’s additions to The Grange including a drawing room extension, conservatory and several chimneypieces. Cuthbert’s 1880s alterations to The Presbytery were also demolished. We depart Ramsgate with a newfound understanding and appreciation of Pugin the Elder and Pugins the Younger.

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Architects Architecture Design Developers People Restaurants Town Houses

Seabird Restaurant + Vale + Valerian Lodge + Liverpool Lawn Ramsgate Kent

Beyond The Vale

The seaside town of Ramsgate in the southeast of England is incredibly distinguished: it has the largest Wetherspoon’s in England. It also has the only Royal Harbour in the country. In a neat linguistic loop the vast tavern occupies the Royal Victoria Pavilion which overlooks the regally moored yachts. Wetherspoon’s verandah is the perfect place to view the golden sands over a preprandial pint. Moving a few blocks inland, Seabird has indoor and outdoor seating – and cooking. Civilised lunch on the terrace is straight from the en plein air grill. Unmissable delights are fennel, feta, cucumber, olive and lemon followed by buttermilk and vanilla pannacotta with brandy soaked Victoria plums.

Gosh so many houses so little time. The domestic architecture of Ramsgate is a rich melange of all the best bits of the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of it is frayed round the edges – this town is genteel rather than gentrified, chilled instead of cool, warm and friendly not hot and trendy. Away from the scale and grandeur of the cliff houses, selected highlights, and not just on an alliterative nomenclature basis, are Vale, Valerian Lodge and Liverpool Lawn.

Close to Seabird, Vale is an impressive triple fronted end of terrace square building split into two semi detached villas. The three storey (with attic and basement) pair share a five bay end elevation: the middle bay is a blind window. A vast scrolled pediment concealing the setback top floor has the word Vale (in upper case) raised on a central panel. The two unshared elevations comprise three wider bays. Rather charmingly, the stucco to the ‘front’ house is painted bright grey; the ‘back’ house is in its natural darker grey pigment free stucco state. Like twin girls but one is wearing makeup. Vale was most likely built by the developer William Saxby in the 1840s.

Valerian Lodge on Grange Road is further up the hill from Seabird on the way to Ramsgate Railway Station. It’s a rather elegant Regency or very early Victorian house set in a miniature 0.2 hectare walled estate filled with holm oak, turkey oak, horse chestnut and sycamore. The house is a long low two storey (over basement) rectangular block: one of the short two elevations faces the road. A tented balcony with trellised piers linking two of the five first floor bedrooms peers over the brick and flint boundary wall. Except for render above the balcony, walls are pale brown brick. In 2015, a single storey garden room in matching style linked by a glazed lobby was added to the short elevation facing away from the road. It was designed by Margate architects Duncan and Graham. Valerian Lodge has the tallest chimneypots in Kent – or at least on Grange Road.

Not far from Wetherspoon’s, Liverpool Lawn was built by James Crisford between 1827 and 1836. A crescent and various straight terraces face a triangular green (that Lawn!). Liverpool Villa and Liverpool House are a pair of three storey brown brick houses: flat fronted facing the Lawn and two full height bow windows on the other principal elevation. These townhouses are aptly of a scale and appearance (especially the painted ground floor lintels) popular in Liverpool. Numbers 20, 21 and 23 form a stuccoed two storey terrace. Number 20 has a three bay façade on the short elevation and is just one bay deep facing the Lawn. Numbers 21 and 22 have identical three bay façades (actually three and a bit bay: they share a central first floor blind window) facing the Lawn. Liverpool Lawn is developer led residential use at its finest.

In 2013, Liverpool Lawn was extended by seven townhouses next to Liverpool Villa and Liverpool House. Built by developer Kentish Projects, designer Anthony Browne of Chelsea Consultants explains, “The houses were designed to mimic neighbouring bow fronted Grade II Listed Georgian properties, while also adapting interior contemporary elements. The houses at the end of the terrace were finished in a contrasting white castellated style. The development utilises hand cut Flemish bond brickwork, lime mortar and stone Gothic window arches. The bespoke wooden windows, doors and railings were crafted to original standards.”

Harriet Kean writes in the October 2024 edition of Tatler, “Wetherspoon’s are the cornerstones of society where everyone comes together. These days everybody’s at the pub. Why go to The Surprise in Chelsea when there’s an Earl of Mulgrave approved Wetherspoon’s: The Montagu Pyke? Everyone who’s anyone is currently mourning The Asparagus: the famed ’Spoon’s in Battersea that to the despair of socialites everywhere closed this year and then reopened as a bougie pub with craft beers. But The Asparagus did have its heyday, attracting everyone from the Morgan-Gileses to Old Marlburian Charlie Girardot.” Fear not: Ramsgate Wetherspoon’s is but a Tube and train ride away from Sloane Square.

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Architects Architecture Design People Restaurants Town Houses

Jody Breese + Jim Breese + Penelope Wine Bar Ramsgate Kent

Sipping Like Dowagers Dancing Like Dervishes

One block back from the sea breeze, there’s a beat in the air. Architect William George Osborne’s tall sliver of a building with its ornate late 19th century façade couldn’t be more different than designer Peter Chadwick’s pared back early 21st century ground floor interior. Penelope is the creation of Jody and Jim Breese – the latter is also the resident DJ. The pair have brought natural wine and vinyl and a party spirit to their hometown. Saturday nights in downtown Ramsgate are all about shooting the breeze at Penelope.

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Architecture Art Country Houses Luxury People

The Percevals + Temple House Ballymote Sligo

Temple of Room

This article is based on two visits to one of the largest privately owned homes in Ireland. In 2001, pioneers of organic farming Sandy and Deb Perceval were the hosts. By 2012, the next generation had taken over: the entrepreneurial and equally hospitable Roderick and Helena. The photographs date from the second visit. A neverending restoration and upkeep continues, while some of the rooms have been updated since, the essence of Temple House remains: it really is the quintessential Irish country house. Elizabeth Bowen could have been writing about it in 1929 in The Last September, “Exhausted by sunshine, the backs of the crimson chairs were a thin light orange; a smell of camphor and animals drawn from skins on the floor by the glare of morning still hung like dust on the evening chill.”

Lissadell, Annaghmore and Temple House. Three great neoclassical country houses resting at the foothills of rugged mountains which trace the west coast of Ireland in an area forever associated with the poetry of William Butler Yeats. Built of stone which darkens from gunpowder to charcoal grey in the persistent rain, each house has a deep Doric porch or porte cochère for shelter from the prevailing wind. Austere elevations cloak rich interiors of intense colour, style and provenance.

The Percevals have lived on their 400 hectare estate for four centuries (except for a short break). The 12th generation, the blonde dynamic duo of Roderick and his wife Helena, play host to staying guests, wedding parties and events. The remains of the original building now form a picturesque crumbling ruin nestled between the current Temple House and lake. It was a castle built in 1216 by the Knights Templar who would later be immortalised in Dan Brown’s 2003 potboiler The Da Vinci Code. Most people don’t have enough storage space in their homes. Not so the Percevals. With dozens of rooms and kilometres of corridors all lit by hundreds of windows, they never have the excuse there’s no room for guests. So they have turned this potential problem into an attractive asset. Now guests can recline in splendid isolation in one of six first floor bedrooms. “We enjoy sharing this gem,” confides Roderick.

Not all guests pay for their accommodation. “The most consistently seen ghost is Nora,” relates Helena. Nora, otherwise known as Eleanora Margaret Perceval, was the châtelaine of Temple House in the Roaring Twenties (although this being rural County Sligo the era was more about fires than flappers). A favourite haunt of hers is the Blue Bedroom. Her best friend was Lady Gaga, wife of Sir Henry Gore-Booth of Lissadell. Another ghost, this time male, has been glimpsed at twilight sitting at the writing desk in the Guest Bedroom Corridor, scribbling long forgotten letters to long forgotten lovers under the purple patchwork of reflected light from the etched windows. Helena continues, “The part of the house we use as family accommodation was derelict when we moved in. It used to have a very distinct atmosphere – a little unnerving – but this has mellowed in recent times.” A visiting American psychic found the house to be riddled with ghosts. “She even spotted a few knights loitering in the castle ruins.”

Temple House wasn’t always as massive. In 1825 Colonel Alexander Perceval (who held the honorary post Sergeant at Arms in the House of Lords) commissioned John Lynn, architect and builder of Sligo, Downpatrick and Belfast, to design and build a relatively modest but still impressive three storey five bay wide by four bay deep with four bay return wing house. Its porch is clearly discernible in the Ionic columned Drawing Room bay window of the current southeast front. The family moved into this new house while the servants continued to live in the castle. But just 33 years later financial difficulties forced the Percevals to sell up. Not for long. A knight in shining armour came riding back to save the day – and the estate. The third son of the Colonel, another Alexander, bought the estate in 1863. “Alexander also paid for a number of families who had been evicted under the interim ownership to return from Britain, American and elsewhere in Ireland and rebuilt their houses.”

“Not large enough!” Alexander declared when he first set eyes on the aggrandisement plans for Temple House. He had made a fortune trading tea in Shanghai and Hong Kong allowing him to splash out three quarters of a million pounds on rebuilding his ancestral seat. In 1865 he tripled the size of the late Georgian house, moving the main entrance to the northeast front. The designer was an unusual choice: the London cabinetmakers Johnstone and Jeanes. The attic floor ducks behind a heavy balustraded parapet which luxuriantly wraps around the new and old entrance fronts. All three storeys are visible in the central three bays of the southwest front. One year later, Alexander died aged 44. Glimpses of his far flung career live on in dashes of Chinoiserie throughout the interior. His son Alec would marry Charlotte O’Hara of Annaghmore.

Service wings link the main blocks (plural, this being Temple House) around a central courtyard. This inner sanctum, devoid of distracting decoration, displays a strange and abstract beauty, its sheer walls rising like cliff faces. Form doesn’t always follow function on the outer envelope though. In the Dining Room behind the majestic portrait of Jane Perceval (Alexander’s mother) is a false window with the sole purpose of maintaining the symmetric harmony of the exterior. Roderick reveals that during the Great Famine, “Jane Perceval used to visit the tenantry with food and medicine twice a week. She died in the winter of 1847 of ‘famine fever’. That was the fate of many good people who had gone to the assistance of the starving peasantry. She writes in a touching letter of the time to remind those around her ‘not to neglect the tenant families between my death and my funeral’.”

“We believe each generation should leave its mark on the house,” Helena states. “We’ve painted the Dining Room a rich ruby red using an authentic Farrow and Ball paint.” It used to be pale green. “Next is the Staircase Hall. We’ve identified a specific blue in the cornice which we hope to use for the walls. After that will be the Sitting Room. Perhaps ivory or off white.” Upstairs a rather more relaxed approach has been taken to the fragile interiors. “The Twin Bedroom hadn’t been decorated for 100 years,” she smiles. “But that’s a good thing at Temple House!” Signs next to the pair of tall sash windows requests guests not to pull the curtains: they’ll fall down. The bedrooms are completely dark anyway when the heavy shutters are closed at night. “Temple House boasts rooms of enormous proportions,” adds Roderick. One is called the Half Acre Bedroom with good reason. “Yet there’s a real sense of intimacy here too. The first guests we catered for were one challenge which we met and are now adept at. We love having groups of friends to stay. Then hosting our first wedding was the next challenge. Organising an arts and music festival was another exciting venture.”

Since this article was written, the great great great grandson of Alexander ‘Chinaman’ Perceval and his wife have added exclusive hire of the house to their wedding venue and bed and breakfast businesses. There are now 10 guest bedrooms. Dinner is available for non residents by reservation and historic house group tours by arrangement. Elizabeth Bowen writes in her family history book of 1942, Bowen’s Court, “Ireland is a great country to die or be married in.” To twist and mix the distinguished author’s words and the distinguished poet’s, Temple House is a great place to stay or be married in with its grand windows open to the southwest.

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Architects Architecture Design Luxury People Restaurants

Design Restaurant + Dome Café by Social Pantry Chelsea Harbour Design Centre London

And The Isles Shall Wait

WOW!house may be an annual highlight but Chelsea Harbour Design Centre is the nation’s most prominent interior design destination all year round. On either side of the Centre Dome is Design Restaurant by Social Pantry in the North Dome and Dome Café by Social Pantry in the South Dome. These two airy eateries are laid out open plan on the ground floor under two layers of some of the 130 showroom galleries – from Andrew Martin to Zuber – all below the semi spherical glass roofs. Architect Ray Moxley’s original design continues to impress and adapt.

Menu highlights at the Design Restaurant include Tuna Tartare (confit heritage tomatoes, basil and Shizu dressings, crispy shallots); Market Fish Cake (corn, paprika mayo, rocket) and Pannacotta (summer berry compôte, almond and ginger tuile). An extensive drinks menu includes Gusborne Wine and Classic Cocktails like the Espresso Martini and Negroni as well as Signature Cocktails such as Honey Chamomile Old Fashioned and Elderflower Spritz. Alex Head started Social Pantry in 2011 and the company has grown to be a leading caterer in London for corporate and private events. As well as a dual presence in Chelsea Harbour, there are Social Pantry restaurants in the Central Criminal Court, Mansion House and Tower Bridge.

Alex confirms, “We are proud to work with the very best sustainable suppliers.” These include The Ethical Butcher, Wildfarmed, Shrub Provisions and Cornish Sea Salt Company. Redemption Roasters is the world’s first prison based roastery, training ex offenders in coffee industry skills with the aim of reducing reoffending in Britain. It works with likeminded companies and supplies coffee to all of Social Pantry’s sites. There are several ex offender resettlement organisations in London including Change for Good, a charity which provides mentoring for men leaving prison to support them as they rebuild their lives.