From Barns to Bones

Radbourne Hall wins Historic Houses Award

Radbourne Hall, built in 1742 for the Pole family and lived in by their descendants ever since (see ACID 2022), had fallen into a sad state of disrepair since its last major renovation in the 1950s.

Now a three-year restoration project involving the enhancement and protection of the building’s architecture has won the prestigious Restoration Award from the Historic Houses Association.

As well as essential structural works to the roof and services and utilities, windows were reinstated and an entirely new staircase constructed on the house’s garden front, giving the saloon on the principal floor access to the grounds. A 20mm gap separates it from the historic fabric of the Palladian mansion, meaning the listed building did not have to be directly disturbed.

The prestigious award, sponsored by Sotheby’s auction house, was created in 2008 and recognises outstanding examples of the work being carried out by private owners, up and down the country, to protect and preserve the historic buildings in their care. This keeps them fit for purpose as family homes, and often as places for the public to enjoy, learn, or stay, in addition to keeping them standing for future generations.

Ben Cowell, Director General of the not-for-profit Historic Houses co-operative association, said: “I congratulate Lady Chichester on her terrific achievement at Radbourne and hope it will spotlight the plight of places still struggling to emulate her efforts.”

“The award is an important way of illustrating what is done by private owners, in almost all cases without any help from the taxpayer, to keep the nation’s heritage safe. It is estimated that there are £1.4billion of outstanding repairs needed across 1,500 Historic Houses member properties around the UK, of which £500million are urgent.

“Our members who were lucky enough to receive government money from the Culture Recovery Fund, created as part of the response to Covid, have been able to achieve amazing things – new roofs, for example, which will provide huge value by safeguarding the ability of these places to employ local people in tourism and hospitality and thrive as businesses.”

Ben added that private owners of historic houses didn’t face a level playing field, compared to publicly or charitably owned ‘museum houses’ on all sorts of issues from rates to planning.

“There is still much work to do to make sure we don’t return to the bad days when much of our national heritage in private hands was lost forever.”

The exterior of Radbourne Hall under restoration

An augmented reality Errwood Hall

Anew Augmented Reality (AR) app about Errwood Hall has been developed by the South West Peak Landscape Partnership (SWPLP) and Derby-based digital media company Bloc Digital, thanks to funding from the Peak District National Park Foundation and The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2021.

It includes a 3D model of how the hall once looked – complete with AR capability – and also a 3D image of how the hall looks today, fact files and sound files for audiences to peruse.

Catherine Parker Heath of the SWPLP said: “It is amazing what has been achieved within a limited budget and timeframe and the result is a multi-media app that everyone can enjoy. One of the aims behind the creation of the app is to engage new audiences in the heritage around them.

“A feature of it is that not only can it be used on-site but it can be activated off-site too, so those who cannot get to see the ruins in person can still see it in all its 3D glory!”

Katy Stead, head of content development and production at Bloc Digital said: “We’re delighted to be part of this project using our digital visualisation and immersive technology to help bring Errwood Hall’s rich history to life in the palm of a hand.”

The standalone app is free and available to download on the App Store and Google Play.

Errwood Hall as it was in its heyday (Gerald Hancock Collection)