The scaffolding stood like a metal skeleton against the Kent sky, and the little brick building at Cobham was finally ready to be reborn. For over a century, it had sat derelict in the grounds of Cobham Hall, a tiny forgotten structure that had once produced butter and cheese for the mighty Darnley family。
When historic buildings charity The Landmark Trust decided to rescue it, Anna Keay, their historian and director, came to see the scale of the challenge ahead。
This little tiny building has been standing derelict for over a century, she said” And after a long time, we’re finally about to start work on site。
”
From the outside, it looked like a simple two-level structure, but the original architects’ plans showed it had always been a single-story building─At its heart was a dairy chamber, where Lady Darnley would have personally supervised the production of butter and cheese for the main house─
This was a really ornate room, Anna said, stepping carefully over debris─There was wonderful plaster work, formed into fabulous gothic openings, and a marble shelf that ran all around the sides─That’s where great shallow dishes were placed, where the milk could settle and the cream could be skimmed off the top─”
The dairy was designed by James Wyatt, the superstar architect of his day, who had also redesigned parts of Cobham Hall─Around 200 years ago, he created an elaborate little Gothic jewel for Lady Darnley─It was her domain, though she probably wouldn’t have done the actual work, but would have come in her fine silks, possibly with visiting friends, to supervise the work of the dairy maid─
The Landmark Trust had raised a million pounds to acquire and completely overhaul the building, and turn it into a place anyone could rent to stay in─Scaffolding had gone up, and initial work had started─John Evitts, the decoration and furnishing expert, was also on site, examining surviving patches of the original Wyatt patent tiling─
“The sand hasn’t got the sandy-ness in it,””he said, studying a fragment─”I think if you mixed a very fine sand into the paint to start with, you’d get a much more stone-like appearance─”
The painted tiles gave the impression that the whole building was made of stone, a much more expensive material─John’s choice of color was a near exact match for Wyatt’s original─
Surrounding the central dairy were the remains of narrow rooms－the dairy maid’s bedroom, a scullery, and open cloisters on the other sides─Despite the decay, some of the original building material remained, and Anna wanted to save and reuse as much of it as possible─
These are the original plaster vaults and ribs designed by James Wyatt, she said, pointing at fragile, crumbling shapes─”It’s like a fantasy stage set built in the 18th century of what the Middle Ages were like─Instead of being carved from stone, it’s made from wood, nails, and formwork, plastered over and then scored out so it looks like stone─”
The restoration was no small task─The dairy had no electricity, running water, or sewage system, and needed many months of skilled craftsmanship─The final bill would be a million pounds─
In the main room, master plasterer Philip Gaches began the painstaking work of recreating the vaulted ceiling, using the exact same materials as the original craftsman－a mixture of plaster of Paris, sand, lime, and horse hair─He built up the ribs slowly, running a wooden mold through each time, gradually shaping the plaster into elegant curves─
“If we look at a Elizabethan or Jacobean ceiling,””he said,””the thing we really like about it is the imperfection－There is beauty in imperfection, thankfully─”
Philip’s colleague, Anna Castia, made sketches based on Wyatt’s designs to create the elaborate ceiling bosses, over 20 of them, each one slowly built up with wet casting and careful detailing─
Meanwhile, the team prepared the outer shell─Original slate tiles, cut by people in 1790 when George III was on the throne, were carefully reused to reclad the upper level─But hundreds more were needed from the same Welsh quarry used 200 years ago─The slate would eventually be painted to look like expensive sandstone─
The windows were another challenge－Nothing remained of the old ones, and there wasn’t enough detail on the original drawings─So the team used the stained glass windows at the main house as their style guide─Specialist glazer John Colley, who had worked at Canterbury Cathedral for 40 years, handcrafted each diamond pane, using glass specially handmade to be as authentic as possible─His colleague Mary Ann assembled the windows, carefully inserting the diamond panes into slotted lead strips, copying the colored orange and blue glass from the huge windows at Cobham Hall─Each handcrafted window was unique, giving the same quality of light as the originals 200 years ago─
Once the windows were fitted, the marble shelves were next－John Evitts traveled 50 miles north of Pisa, into the mountains of Carrara, to choose the best quality marble, just as James Wyatt had done 200 years earlier─He selected Bianco Carrara, a standard size, white with a few gray veins, perfect for the dairy shelving─The 100 kilo slabs were carefully cut and shaped, then installed on a solid metal frame─
” I love the way you lose the big blocks just as building blocks,””John said, watching the huge chunks of marble being hauled around the quarry－”Just for building, you know, protection－It’s the scale of the blocks that I find absolutely fascinating─”
With the exterior complete, the team turned to the final finishing touches－John sourced authentic antique settling bowls from a market at dawn, to sit on the marble shelves─The building got its copper roof, a traditional choice that would weather to a beautiful light green over the years─
After 12 months of intensive work, Cobham Dairy was transformed─The old dairy room had become a sitting and dining room, with the Gothic effect ceiling, chapel-like windows, and authentic Carrara marble shelves─The dairy maid’s bedroom and scullery were now a modern bedroom and bathroom, and the open cloisters housed a stunning Gothic style kitchen and a lavatory─
Anna came for her final visit, walking through the transformed spaces with awe─
” Blimey,” she breathed, standing in the main room－”From the Gothic effect ceiling and walls, to the chapel-like windows－There are so many things that I’m glad we did, like the stained glass－And the authentic Carrara marble shelves－I think the ceiling’s a triumph, isn’t it? ”
She paused, taking it all in－
“The thing is it is just all a fantasy, isn’t it? “”she said－”That’s what I love about it－It’s just so playful and magical, and is like a fairy tale－I just wonder what the dairy maid would make of coming in here now－I suppose the thing she most would have noticed is how nice and warm it is－”
“It’s going to have a new life,””she added softly－”It’s going to be enjoyed－It’s going to be loved－”
And with that, the little dairy, once derelict and forgotten, was ready to welcome its first guests－400 years of history, lovingly preserved for generations to come－
Deep in the Scottish Highlands, another story was unfolding－Fairburn Tower, a 475-year-old ruined tower house, stood roofless and ravaged by time－But The Landmark Trust had a plan to save it, turning it into a place anyone could rent－
Anna Keay came to assess the challenge－Every time I’ve come around this corner,””she said,””I wondered whether a bit of it might have fallen off because it’s always looked so terrible and so imperiled－But now I’m seeing it completely clad in the scaffolding－It just makes your heart lift because actually work started and we’re actually beginning to put it back together again－”
The building was a complicated structure, built by Murdo Mackenzie, who had worked directly for King James V－It had once been a sophisticated home, with ornate decorative turrets known as bartizans, which were a popular feature of grand Scottish houses at that time－
Up on the scaffold, Anna got her first close look at the surviving bartizans－
“Oh, look at seeing the bartizans up close－Absolutely beautiful－It’s such a privilege to see them like like this,””she said, her voice full of wonder－”Isn’t that just completely magical?
”
The restoration was a massive undertaking－The tower had huge cracks, missing floors and stairs, and a staircase tower that was pulling away from the main building－But the team was determined－They stabilized the structure, rebuilt the floors and ceilings with hand-finished timbers, and painstakingly restored the stonework－
The windows were a challenge－A specialist joinery company in Dundee made a complete set of 25 windows based on original 16th century designs, no two the same shape or size, using old-fashioned leaded glass－
The exterior was covered in a traditional harling render and limewash covering, a bold heritage pink based on colors used on similar 16th century buildings in Scotland－
“We used a red pigment, a yellow pigment, and a brown pigment to come up with this color,””explained one of the team－”It’ll be very stand out from the environment that it is, which I think’s a good thing－It’s like a landmark－”
For the first time in perhaps 250 years, Fairburn Tower was finally weatherproof－
Inside, the team worked on the interiors－Artist Paul Mowbray spent 9 weeks painting a traditional 16th century style painted ceiling in the first floor living room, based on the elaborate painted ceilings found at places like Crathes Castle and Stirling Castle－He started with stenciled images and lettering, charcoal outlines, then carefully painted each section, using the same rustic techniques as the original craftsmen－
“It’s very time-consuming, certainly,” he said, working above his head on a scaffold platform－”I need a probably a little therapeutic massage after after working above my head for such long hours－”
John Evitts hunted for authentic Scottish furniture, finding pieces in farmer Tom’s field in Dumfries and Galloway－He adapted an old cupboard, cut it down to fit a kitchen alcove, and sourced a court cupboard from a field in Dumfries that fit perfectly in the sitting room－
The spiral staircase was rebuilt, each concrete step carefully formed within the building and acting as a kind of strengthening on the tower itself, pinning the structure back together－
After almost 3 years of work, the tower was finally ready－Anna came for her final inspection, walking through the completed rooms with John－
“It really is something to behold now standing here,” she said, looking up at the pink tower against the gray sky－”You have to remind yourself of what we were looking at just a few years ago－A building that then had no roof, no windows, no floors, no harling on the outside, so it’s just the bare stone, and this great series of horrifying cracks running up the front of it－”
The rooms were cozy and light, with the small windows characteristic of the 16th century, the rebuilt bartizans offering magical little spaces to sit and read, looking out to sea－
“It’s very, very difficult now to imagine how it was,” Anna said softly－”Two years ago, this was the only bit that had a floor, which was this deep in twigs and bird droppings and everything－There was nothing above us－I mean, you just would never have believed it was possible－”
The project had cost 2 million pounds, but Fairburn Tower, this mighty little 16th century tower house, was saved－
“There it is,” Anna said, standing back－”Done－Very pink and proud in the landscape, visible for miles around－And saved－It feels like an amazing achievement to stand here after years of work, to actually affect this rescue and to get piece of our past into the sort of condition that means it will be here for another 500 years－”
Near Leeds, another remarkable restoration was underway－Calverley Old Hall, a medieval manor house that had been divided into nine separate cottages over the centuries, was being stripped back to its origins－
And already they had found something extraordinary－In an upstairs room, behind layers of plaster and wallpaper, the team discovered a whole wall full of ancient paintings－They could be as much as 500 years old, dating back to Elizabeth I or even her father, Henry VIII－
Anna came racing up to Yorkshire to see for herself－The builders were carefully opening up the room, revealing the paintings piece by piece－
“Oh my goodness,” she gasped, walking in－”This is one of the first ones to pierce－Oh, this has left me completely speechless－”
The paintings were the Renaissance, she said－”Here it is, the Yorkshire Renaissance－It’s fabulous－You don’t often get the opportunity to uncover something like this－Possibly even once in a lifetime－It’s quite emotional－Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for this－To find this whole scheme from floor to ceiling, wall upon wall, all complete, is like you’ve suddenly been dropped into a great pool of history and it’s just all around you－”
The extraordinary painted room was tucked away in the lodging block of the building－The team had been stripping the building back to its medieval and Tudor origins, revealing not just the paintings, but also a complete original Tudor oak floor, contemporary with the painted scheme－
” A rediscovered and totally intact original oak floor to go with the 450-year-old wall paintings,” Anna marvelled－”We had embarked upon this project before we had even the slightest inkling such a incredible survival was here－It just keeps on coming, doesn’t it? ”
The building’s history was rich－One of the Calverley family, William Calverley, had once come up against Henry VIII himself, been thrown in the Tower of London, and only saved his life by writing the king a grovelling poem－Henry, remarkably, released him, and William went on to become a sheriff and was even knighted－The magnificent wall paintings were believed to have been commissioned about 15 years after his release－
The restoration project was massive, expected to cost 5 million pounds, raised from grants and public donations－The team carefully conserved the paintings, using special Perspex sheeting and monitors to protect them during building work－A specialist conservation team from Opus Conservation painstakingly cleaned them, revealing two Tudor faces－One was possibly Sir William Calverley himself, the man who commissioned them－The other, awkwardly painted over a diagonal timber, may have been his wife－
The building was transformed－The great hall, once divided into three separate dwellings, became a massive double-height kitchen and dining area, with the spectacular medieval timber roof revealed in all its glory－The solar block, once a huge cavernous space, became bedrooms on the ground floor and a massive sitting room on the first, leading to the amazing painted bedroom－
A grand staircase was installed in the end of the great hall, sweeping up into the medieval roof space－John Evitts sourced huge furniture, including a 15-ft refectory table from his old school and a 17th-century court cupboard weighing nearly a quarter of a ton, which had to be maneuvered up the stairs with planks and sheer determination－
After more than 3 years of work, Calverley Old Hall was finally ready to open its doors－Anna walked through the completed rooms, marveling at the transformation－
” Here’s the kitchen, or the Great Hall,” she said, standing at the end of the vast space－”I remember saying, I can just really imagine how great it would be to stand at this spot and to be chopping your onions and to be seeing this amazing medieval roof in front of you－It really lives up to it, doesn’t it? ”
The painted chamber was the highlight－
” Ah!
Look at it,” Anna breathed, stepping in－”It is a fantastic space－It works brilliantly－This room must be the most different of everywhere, mustn’t it, really, in the whole building－”
The project had been like peeling back layers of history to reveal a whole range of secrets, she said－
“The thing that’s been so wonderful among all the wonderful things about this project has been to bring it all back together again, to reunite all these different spaces, to make them whole again,””she said－”And to take the kind of best of the way that people lived in the Middle Ages, about living together and doing things together, occupying big communal spaces, and to make that part of how this building can work again in the 21st century and into the future－With whole new generations of people um being able to come here, stay here, cook here, have fun here, enjoy life here once again－And that just feels like such an achievement－”
