Introduction West Horsley Place is the former residence of Mary Duchess of Roxburghe who died in 2014, unexpectedly leaving the estate to her nephew, Bamber Gascoigne. Bamber and his family wish the Estate to be kept intact, and its extraordinary qualities conserved and shared with a wider audience. To this end, the Gascoignes are gifting the house, land and ancillary buildings to a new foundation, the Mary Roxburghe Trust.
The Trust wishes to introduce a range of uses, focused on the arts and education, to assist in the conservation of the estate and widen public access. Proposals include: • A new Opera House, for which a planning application is being prepared Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe
• Teaching and exhibition space for the ceramic arts and other crafts • Functions and events in the house and farm buildings • Residential uses (the cottages, lodge, farm house and the house itself will continue to be lived in) • Agriculture (the estate will continue to be farmed)
Opera at West Horsley Place The focal point of the arts programme is a new Opera House to be funded and operated by Grange Park Opera, with a long lease and agreement to contribute financially to the restoration and upkeep of the Estate. Grange Park Opera mounts an opera festival every summer, staging around 30 performances between June and mid-July. Opera-goers arrive before the performance to enjoy the house and garden, and dine or picnic during a long interval.
Grange Park Opera was established in 1998 and over the past 15 years has built up an international reputation. The organisation is a charity with robust governance and financial management, and receives no public subsidy.
West Horsley Place The estate occupies much of the land between East and West Horsley.
The heart of the estate is the Grade I listed house, parts of which date back to the fifteenth century. The house is surrounded by gardens and orchards, with woodland and farmland beyond. Across the driveway from the house is the home farm, a mixture of Grade II listed stables, barns and cottages, and utilitarian post-war farm buildings.
West Horsley Place West Horsley Place is exquisite; its beauty unfolds gradually with patient exploration. The house, gardens, and parkland are intensely atmospheric - venerable trees, glowing brick walls and tiled roofs, the secret magic of walled gardens (700 yards of beautiful walls dating from about 1710) and the woodland beyond. The intention is to bring new life while preserving the atmosphere.
The Proposed Site The intention is to site the new Opera House in the copse north of the orchard.
The proposed site for the Opera House was until at least the 1920s an open paddock ringed by trees, called “the Home Pittles� on historic maps.
Historic plan showing the Home Pittles north of the orchard
The proposal is to add a new element, awaiting discovery beyond the orchard
This location keeps the opera experience contained within the confines of the house, garden and woodland; the opera house will be discovered while exploring the gardens, rather than revealing itself at first glance.
The Home Pittles in May 1920
The Elements of a Festival Opera House The Opera House needs to seat 650 and accommodate three or four productions each summer to be viable. The building is comprised of three elements: the auditorium, the stage, and backstage.
The Auditorium
The Stage
Backstage
Seating is located in the stalls and three curved tiers. A fourth tier provides technical facilities.
The Stage must be at ground level to accommodate deliveries and removals, and needs to be large enough to accommodate several productions in repertory.
Backstage facilities for up to 110 performers singers, actors, dancers and orchestra members, and technical and administrative staff - are needed.
3
The auditorium needs a volume of at least 5,200m and a height of 12.5 metres for excellent acoustics.
Change-over needs to take place quickly and easily between performances.
The Site The resulting building sits comfortably in the copse, screened by trees from the house and from long-range views, leaving the setting of the house and farm buildings little changed.
Movement plan, 1:2500: The way in which opera-goers will experience the estate has been carefully considered.
Site plan, 1:1250
Section The height of the building is the minimum required for good acoustics, and is well screened by the trees in the copse.
Lighting Bridge
Technical Gallery Grid Upper Circle
Upper Circle Backstage Stalls Circle
Auditorium Stage
Section
Pit
Trap room
Plans The plan form is simple. The drum of the auditorium is expressed on the exterior, and retained trees screen the Stage.
Stage Door
Yard Backstage
Backstage Side Stage & Get-In
Get-In Doors
Stage Side Stage
it
P stra
he Orc
Auditorium Stalls below
Auditorium Stalls
Stalls Circle
Stalls Plan
Stalls Circle Plan
Lighting Bridge Typical Upper Circle Technical Gallery
Typical Upper Circle Plan
Technical Gallery Plan
Appearance The building will appear as a brick drum, glimpsed amongst the trees, made from a similar brick to the existing buildings, with a textured surface.
Precedent images
The view from the south shows the Opera House seen from the footpaths through the copse.
Views In longer-range views, the opera house is well screened by trees, leaving the setting of the estate little changed.
View 2
View 3 Key plan
View 1
What Next? The programme envisages a planning application being submitted in December. The Opera House will be built in two phases, commencing in the spring of 2016, and completing after the 2017 Opera Festival.
Feedback and Contact Feedback forms are available for your comments. Please hand them to a member of the team or return them using the freepost address. Phone:
0800 170 7270
E-mail:
jmulligan@hardhat.co.uk
Website:
www.westhorsleyplace.co.uk