Ashdown House

Award Winning

Award Winning

Location: Lambourne, Berkshire

Client: National Trust

Architect: Rodney Melville

Value: £1M

Awards:

2014 RICS Awards – South East Conservation Award

Ashdown House is a Grade I listed 17th-century country house built in 1662 by William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven for Elizabeth of Bohemia.

Now owned by the National Trust, the house remains occupied while also welcoming visitors on selected days. Structural investigations were commissioned following concerns over the stability of the staircase landings and roof structure, alongside a wider programme of conservation works to address deterioration to the masonry and roof coverings.

The building presented a combination of structural and conservation challenges. Surveys identified deterioration in the roof coverings and masonry that had allowed water ingress, contributing to localised decay within the historic timber structure. Within the main staircase, failed tenon joints, fractured joists and poor plaster key to lath ceilings created concerns over the stability of the landings. All works needed to be carried out carefully within a Grade I listed building that remained occupied throughout the project.

Detailed structural surveys were undertaken, including opening-up works to the staircase landings and inspection of the roof structure through carefully selected access points.

The roof coverings were stripped to allow inspection and repair of the historic oak structure before the roof was reinstated using traditional stone slates, ensuring the building remained protected from future water ingress. Conservation repairs included works to masonry, stabilisation of the staircase framing and strengthening of timber connections where joints had failed.

The reroofing works, combined with careful conservation of the building fabric, significantly improved the building’s resilience to weathering. 

The quality of the conservation work was recognised with the RICS South East Conservation Award 2014. 

More Projects:

  • Knole

  • Gunnersbury Park

  • Country House Wiltshire

  • The Vyne