Down one or two leafy country lanes, just a short drive from our place in Ripley, was the ancestral home of the local gentry, the Onslow family, Clandon Park. We drove in to take a peak and learned a little more about the house and the family who own much land around the Surrey hills.
The Onslow's ascent into aristocracy started small in the 12th century when their wool growing dad moved the family from Shrewsbury to London to give his boys a leg up in politics. By the sixteenth century, they had their first earl, George. He followed his father and became a lawyer, then a Member of Parliament, which lead to him being placed, fortuitously, to become a junior lord of the Treasury. The house that soon became the family home was bought in 1641, barely thirty miles from Parliament House in London, so close enough to commute, even in those days. And that single factor still defines these expensive villages even today: their accessibility to London.
Before that, it was probably far enough removed from London to have been considered a weekend hunting lodge, but by then, it had been converted into a not-too-shabby Jacobean mansion. But, that did not last. It was given a complete overhaul in the 18th century when it took on clean simple Palladian lines, sunken gardens, and a park designed by Capability Brown. Alas, in 1956, one of the daughters found she had to gift Clandon Park to the National Trust in lieu of death duties. The family was not altogether happy about this, though subsequent earls held on to, and still manage the remaining acreage, that was not gifted with the house. That land we drive daily. It stretches in all directions around our local villages.
National Trust took over the venue and for a time used it for weddings, exhibitions and period drama shoots. But, tragically, an electrical fire in the basement in 2015 left the beautiful venue a burnt out shadow of its former self. The family was not happy about this, either. They made the news, remonstrating that the National Trust should have looked after the place better. The National Trust went in to damage control and built a big protective plastic canopy around the ruins of the burnt out house, prior to deliberating on what work to do on it, when, how and with what. It is presented like that still today and folk visit in droves, all in hard hats and high visibility vests.
The current family members do not want to see it rejuvenated as a theme park version of their former home. Not that they have much say in this. But, when we were visiting, Clandon Park attracted an amazing cross section of visitors, all fascinated, and in deep conversation about the effects of fire on crumbled plaster and heavy wooden beams.There was surprise about how undamaged the Italian marble was and there was grim humour over the Hallowe'en effect of eerily hanging fragments of hessian backing for the wallpaper. A group of architects and students were pouring over the site with finely tuned cameras pointed at every charred angle and feeble joint looking for structural implications of fire on such a building. National Trust is still waffling about what to do with it, but my feeling is that there are dozens of authentic viewable homes already in the Trust portfolio, so it may be time for the Trust to think laterally. This site appears to have more intrinsic value as a ruin than a renovation. Even left as it is, it is a valuable educational resource tool, and an interesting one. So, that option gets my vote.
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| Clandon Park as it was |
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| Part of the damage to one of the reception rooms |
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| Another damaged room |
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| Clandon Park as it is |
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