A lesson in how not to restore a historic home
Cornelia van der Poll | The Telegraph | 18 August 2023
Saving face: detail from the fireplace of the Marble Hall at Clandon Park, Surrey CREDIT: national trust/alamy
SIR – In making the case against rebuilding the Crooked House pub, Clive Aslet (Comment, August 16) says that he has “sympathy” with the National Trust’s decision not to reinstate the superb stucco interiors at Clandon Park in Surrey, and instead leave the house as a fire-blackened brick shell with a glass roof and steel walkways.
It makes for a stark contrast with the beautiful and vibrant reconstructions of the interiors at Uppark in West Sussex after the fire there in 1989. They may not be “quite the same” as the originals, but they are infinitely preferable to a sad ruin.
The Marble Hall and other fine rooms at Clandon were not only interiors of rare quality, but also held special memories for locals and visitors. Thanks to the National Trust’s work at Uppark, the skills exist to put this wonderful house back at the heart of its community and to create a conservation showpiece of which we can all be proud.
The National Trust should spend the insurance payout it received after the fire at Clandon on a restoration of the house, not a gimmicky ruin. The trust deserves no sympathy for failing in its duty to preserve the historic buildings in its care.